I Will Guide You Home
by Ronnini
Summary: Her father warned her never to enter the forest alone. Doesn't he know daughters never listen to their fathers?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters.**

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She felt the wet moss squish between her toes. Her arms had grown tired of holding her bunched up dress, so now it dragged along the forest floor getting dirtier and dirtier with every step she took.

She stepped on a fallen branch and it snapped under her weight, sending a flock of startled birds flying, which in case startled her. She was always on edge when she entered the forest. Her father had warned her many times not to go into the forest alone, which of course is why she was here now. Her parents were always restricting her from going anywhere that the Evil Queen Regina could find her, but Emma found it quite irritating. The Queen had made no threat since being banished. In fact, they had heard nothing from her or about her since. That didn't make her parents any less weary though. At 10 years old she still had to have a guard escort her to and from her bed chamber as well as anywhere else in the kingdom.

The forest seemed to grow darker as she went further in, but Emma wasn't scared, or at least that's what she wanted to believe. It also had grown colder causing her to shiver violently. She had discarded her winter cloak near the beginning of the forest. It was hanging on a low branch. She had hoped that at least keeping that clean would not raise suspicion.

All of a sudden she heard the padding of feet from her right, a whole lot of feet by the sounds of it. It was like a stampede. Her eyes widened and her breathing stopped. Had her father been right? Had Regina somehow found her in the forest?

She scrambled to the nearest tree and began to climb. The bark cut into her hands and she lost her footing a couple of times, but her grip was tight. Once she felt she was high enough up, she perched herself on a sturdy branch and awaited the sight of the queen's black carriage. Her mind drifted to what would happen if Regina did capture her. Would Regina kill her? No, she would use her to lure out her parents. Then she would finally have the chance to kill her mother and who knows what she would do with her father, probably kill him as well. Then she would use Emma as her own personal slave. Emma shuddered at the thought.

The pounding grew closer, but then she heard something unexpected; a howl and then a whole series of howls in response. It wasn't the evil queen. It was a pack of wolves. A sea of white and grey flooded through the woods. Emma smiled at the sight. It wasn't that she was happy to see them, they were by far one of the most vicious creatures in the kingdom, she was just relieved it wasn't the evil queen.

As the wolves grew more scattered Emma knew it was safe to come down, but as she descended she saw something peculiar. A boy was on all fours scampering at the back of the pack. He looked to be about her age, maybe older, brown hair, and stained clothes the seemed to barely fit. Hadn't anybody told this boy it wasn't safe to play with wolves?

She hadn't meant to follow him further into the forest and risk getting lost, it was her curiosity. It was hard keeping up with them. She didn't know how the boy did it especially on all fours. She was gasping for air and clutching her ribs by the time they had come to a halt at what looked like a den. She peeked from behind a tree that was shielding her from their view. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion when the boy actually entered the den behind them. That boy would certainly be eaten, she thought. She wasn't going to let that happen.

She moved from behind the tree and slowly made her way towards the den. As she drew closer to the entrance she was accosted by a horrible stench. The smell of rotting flesh stung in her nose. She could almost feel the bile rising in her throat. She collapsed to the ground violently dry heaving. Once the feeling of nausea subsided she picked herself up, dusted herself off, and took a deep breath before attempting to enter the wolf's den for a second time.

She tried to ignore the growing stench as she traveled further in. Unfortunately she could not ignore the escalating sound of snarling and snapping coming from the wolves further in the den. Was she too late? Had the boy already been eaten? If she didn't get out in time was she going to be next? Her heart started beating faster and it was almost as if the den had grown hotter, but it didn't stop her from moving forward.

The scene she stumbled upon would probably haunt her dreams for many nights to come. The wolves were huddled together, shoving each other to get a better position on their kill. Entrails flew through the air and blood was splattered on the walls. Before she knew it a gasp had left her throat. She tried to stop it from leaving her mouth by covering it with both of her hands, but she was too late. The feasting immediately ceased and one by one the wolves turned in her direction, muzzles scrunching and snarling. Their eyes were dark with hunger as they slowly approached her. As they left the corpse abandoned and forgotten behind them, Emma was able to see that they weren't actually feasting on the boy she had seen, but a deer. She instantly felt relieved, like she was able to breathe again, but it only lasted a second. The wolves were drawing closer and there was no escape. She knew she couldn't outrun them.

A wave of regret washed over her. She should have listened to her father's warning. She wondered how they were going to find her. They would probably send one of their guards to escort her to dinner and when the guard returned to tell them she was not there they would search the grounds. Someone would find her coat and shoes by the beginning of the forest and her father would know that she had disobeyed him. How long would it take for them to find her; days, weeks? Would they even recognize her or would she just be a pile of bones among the many others in this den? Even though it would be all her fault for not listening, her father would blame himself and that thought made tears fall from her eyes.

She could feel the hot breath of a wolf brush against her fingers. They were so close that they could probably smell the blood pumping through her veins. She wouldn't be much of a meal to them, more of a snack really.

She opened her eyes for a split second to see that the wolves were at least 5 feet in front of her, drooling tremendously. She quickly snapped them shut again. She wasn't going to watch them devour her. She didn't want to know when it would happen.

She may not have wanted to know when it was going to happen, but she was sure it would have happened by this point. She risked opening her eyes again and before her the wolves stood frozen in place. She didn't understand why they had stopped until she saw the boy she had come to save crouched in front of her. He began growling and barking, like he was telling them to back away and that she wasn't their next meal. At first she thought they weren't going to listen, that they were now going to eat both of them, but surprisingly they started slowly backing away until they had returned to the deer corpse and resumed their meal.

She didn't know how long she had been holding her breath, but she finally let it out. Her heartbeat slowly returned to normal, but her hands hadn't stopped shaking. The blood seemed to rush to her head which made her feel faint, but she wasn't about to fall over in the midst of these hungry wolves. She fanned herself to calm her nerves and closed her eyes to collect herself. When she opened them again she was face to face with the boy who had just saved her life. His was the same height as her so she was looking straight into his blue eyes. He had a heap of brown curls on top of his head and was scarily thin, almost gangly even. How had such a weak little boy stared down a pack of murderous wolves?

"Thank you for saving me." She said breaking the silence. She crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her arms nervously.

He gave her no answer in response and turned around to walk towards the deer corpse that was almost void of any meat. The rest of the wolves had had their fill and were now sleeping in the corner. She watched as he slowly made his way towards the mangled deer and crouched in front of it. She looked on in complete horror as his face moved closer and he sank his teeth into some meat that was left on the ribs. As he yanked a piece off, blood trickled down his chin. The nausea she thought had disappeared crept up again. It didn't look like it was affecting him in the same way as he dove back in for another bite. That's when it suddenly hit her. This boy wasn't just playing wolf for a day, he actually thought he was one. How had this happened? Had he been abandoned by his parents in the woods and somehow the wolves had accepted him into their pack? Her heart broke for him as his face grew redder with blood as he continued to rip into the dead animal.

She wasn't going to watch this anymore. He would surely die if he continued living like this and if she could do something to save him she would.

He had finished eating and wiped his face clean with his sleeve. He crawled over to the rest of the wolves and fell asleep near a little pup as white as snow. It actually made Emma smile to see how adorable they looked. She shook herself from the moment and looked towards the entrance of the den. Panic shot through her when she noticed the sun was setting. She hadn't expected to be out this late and she wasn't sure if she was going to get back before dark.

She walked as quietly as she could out of the den as to not wake the wolves, but once she was out she sprinted for the castle. When she reached the end of the forest she slipped on her shoes and pulled her coat back on. As she approached the castle she checked to make sure no guard was in sight. Once she knew it was clear she started scaling the wall, climbing towards the window she had left open to her room. The moment her feet touched the floor of her room she heard a knock at the door. She flung her shoes off her feet and leaped on to her bed, situating herself to make it look like she had been there the entire time.

"Come in." She answered, trying to keep her voice from showing how nervous she was.

She smoothed down her dress one more time before the guard had fully entered her room and bowed to her.

"Dinner is ready m'lady. I have come to escort you." He said.

She slowly slid out of bed until she was on her feet. Thankfully her shoes hadn't flown too far in her rush to get them off so she was easily able to slip them on.

"Right, shall we go then?"

The guard looked at her strangely. For a second she was worried he could tell where she had been. Was her hair disheveled? Could there be blood on her face? Curse her curiosity!

"Yes, but if you don't mind me asking Princess, why do you have your coat on?" He asked.

She let out a sigh of relief and her nerves went with it. "I got cold." She lied.

The guard let out a laugh deep from his belly that echoed through the room. "Why of course you got cold, your window is open." He strode over to the window and forcefully shut it, latching it closed.

She gave him a shy smile. "Well you know how I like to listen to the birds while I'm reading. I must have forgotten that I had left it open." She said innocently.

"I'm sure you won't need your coat at dinner m'lady. The castle is plenty warm." He informed her.

"Right," She said, her voice starting to shake.

If she took off her coat in front of him he would surely see the stains on the bottom of her dress and know she had gone out alone.

"If you would just wait outside of my door I will come out when I have changed." She ordered.

"But you're just removing your coat m'lady." He argued.

Her hands balled into fits and she felt the heat rising in her cheeks. "It may just be my coat, but I would feel more comfortable if you would wait outside and that's an order. Would you like me to tell my father that you disobeyed me?" She said, cocking an eyebrow and placing her hands on her hips.

She could tell the guard knew he had crossed a line and smiled triumphantly.

"There will be no need for that Princess. I will wait outside for you as you have ordered." He then bowed to her and left the room so she could change.

She left her dress in a heap on the floor and scoured her closet for a dress to wear to dinner. Her scowl grew more and more as each dress she passed seemed uglier than the last. That was the case until one dress caught her eye. It was a beautiful deep blue with diamond accents around the neckline, sleeves, and hemline. It made her think of the boy that had saved her life tonight. It matched his eyes perfectly. She would wear it tonight for him, as a thank you. No one would know why, it would just be for her, like her own little secret and knowing that made her smile.

She slipped on the dress and checked herself in the mirror to make sure everything was in place. As she stared at herself in the mirror she noticed that she looked kind of pale. Her body must still be in shock she thought. She hoped her parents wouldn't notice her pale complexion and worry.

Once she felt she was ready she opened the door and walked out into the hallway. The guard was standing outside of her door just like she had ordered.

"I must say, you look stunning m'lady." He complimented her as he held out his arm for her to take. "Shall we go?"

"We shall." She said as she took his arm and they walked towards the dining hall.

She had thought of the idea last night during dinner. Her plate was still full once her parents had finished. She hadn't felt that hungry with the visions of the bloody deer corpse that kept flashing in her mind. As the servants were taking their plates away, Emma eyed all the delicious food she had left untouched. Her mind drifted to the boy in the forest and what he had for dinner that night. He wasn't eating a four course meal with peppered chicken, roasted potatoes, steamed green beans, and spice cake. She couldn't even fathom eating raw meat when she had all of this food in front of her.

"Emma, you didn't even touch your food. Is everything alright?" Her father asked sounding concerned.

"Everything is alright. I'm just not very hungry." She answered. She averted his gaze and stared down at her hands in her lap.

"Are you feeling ill?" Her mother asked. Snow reached over to feel Emma's forehead, but she jerked away.

"No, I just-I," She was stumbling over her words. She had to think of something quick. "I was snacking on cookies up in my room so I'm not very hungry right now." She fibbed. She was probably starving, but she couldn't force herself to eat one bite.

"Emma, you know how I feel about you snacking on sweets before dinner." Her father scolded her.

"I know father. I'm sorry. It will never happen again, I promise." She apologized.

She had gone to bed that night on an empty stomach, but it hadn't bothered her. Not when she couldn't stop thinking about what she was planning on doing the next day.

She had snuck into the kitchen the next morning and stuffed a basket full of lemon cakes, freshly baked bread, dried meat, and a few apples. She had lowered it from her window with her bed sheet and then climbed down the wall of the castle. She did the same thing as the day before; hung her coat on a tree near the entrance of the forest and left her shoes there as well.

She thought that once she had entered the forest she would know exactly where to go to get back to the den, but as she walked further in she found herself completely lost. Nothing looked familiar. She crossed a creek that she hadn't remembered coming across the other day. She felt like she was going in circles and that she wasn't even coming close to where the den actually was.

Hours must have passed. The sun had grown higher in the sky than when she had entered the forest. Hopefully no one had noticed her absence.

She had grown more frustrated as the hours passed. So much so that she had thrown the basket to the ground and flung herself to the earth, weeping in defeat. This was such a stupid idea, she thought. Who was she to think that she could help anyone? Now she was lost in the woods with no knowledge of how to find her way out. Her father would have to send a search party to find her and once she was returned to the castle she would probably be locked away until she was married off. This all made her cry harder.

Her whaling was interrupted by howling far off in the distance. Her head shot up in shock. She quickly picked herself up, wiped the tears from her eyes, grabbed her basket, and headed in the direction she heard the howl come from. She didn't know if she was even headed in the correct direction. It just felt right to her. Before she knew it she had arrived at the clearing and there was the den right in front of her.

What was she supposed to do now? Should she wait until they arrived and just hand it to him? Would he even take it from her if she did? They could also already be in the den with another kill. Did that mean she was too late? She certainly wasn't going to go in there again. Maybe she should leave it at the entrance of the den and just hope that he found it.

She decided that leaving the basket there would be the best option and took a step towards it, but she was cut off by a wolf rushing past her. She jumped back in fright as the rest of the wolves ran past her. She stood as still as possible and waited for all of them to pass. She was confused when she didn't see the boy at the end. Was it possible that he had been somewhere in the middle and she had just missed him? She assumed that was the case and once the wolves were all inside of the den she made her way towards the entrance so she could leave the basket there.

She had just placed the basket on the ground when she heard someone come up behind her. She slowly turned around and saw him, the boy that had saved her last night, charging towards her on all fours. In a split second he was on two feet and standing right in front of her. She stood frozen in place as he looked over her. When their eyes met she didn't feel frightened anymore, she actually felt completely comfortable with him. She felt it was safe enough for her to move without him feeling threatened, so she stepped aside to reveal the basket on the ground. He looked down at it and then back at her. He seemed timid, like he was looking for permission from her to inspect the basket. She gave him a nod of reassurance and she was glad to see the recognition in his eyes. He crouched down and began sniffing the basket. When he had determined the basket was safe he opened the lid.

When he looked up at her the expression on his face was something she couldn't describe. It was like he had never experienced generosity like this, like he had never experienced such selflessness and he looked thankful. She was afraid that he would refuse the food and try to give it back to her so she gave him another nod signaling to him that it was okay for him to eat it.

He was tentative at first. Every time he would barely put his hand in the basket he would jerk it back. He did it a couple more times until he finally pulled out a lemon cake. It started off with just a nibble, but then it was like he had transformed right before her eyes. His pupils grew darker and his bites got larger. It was like nothing she had ever witnessed before. Once he had finished the cake he returned to the basket, stuffed both hands in and they came back out with everything she had packed in there, minus the apples, she noted. She watched as he scarfed it all down, licking his fingers clean.

When he was finished he sat there staring at her with his wide blue eyes. She wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to say something, but she found she couldn't form the words. She gave him a shy smile, but his expression didn't change. She hadn't expected anything from him and she wasn't offended that he wasn't groveling at her feet. She had accepted that this was as far as their interaction would go, so she inched forward and picked the basket up. She felt the apples roll inside of it. She had been so captivated by his animalistic state of hunger that she had completely forgotten that he hadn't eaten the apples.

She shook her head and giggled softly. Of course he hadn't eaten the apples. She thought of just leaving them in there and returning them to the kitchen, but then she changed her mind. The things she had brought for him weren't that nutritious. The apples were probably the healthiest items in the basket. She reached inside, grabbed the apples, and placed them on the ground in front of him. She wasn't going to force him to eat them and by the disgusted look on his face it didn't look to promising, but she wasn't going to deprive him from a source of nutrition.

He still hadn't moved. He was still sitting on the ground staring at her. She felt it was time to leave so she started to slowly back away. When she was far enough away from him she turned her back towards him and made her way back towards the castle.

Later that night her father would comment on how happy she looked. She would come up with some lie to tell him like she read a good book today, but she wouldn't tell him that the smile that had been permanently placed on her face all day had been because a boy in the woods. Her parents also wouldn't see that the smile didn't disappear once she had fallen asleep.

The next day she decided she was going to bring him food again. She liked the way it made her feel to see the indescribable look on his face. The second time she picked different things to take like spice cake and rosemary bread. One thing she didn't change was the apples. If he had ended up eating the apples she had left then now there would be more for him. If not, maybe her bringing more would show him that they were important.

Finding the den a third time was a little bit easier, when she went to place the basket down in the same spot as yesterday she found the apples in exactly the same place she had left them. She ignored them and found a nice area to sit and wait. It was far enough away that the wolves wouldn't feel threatened, but close enough that she could still see the basket. Now all that was left to do was wait.

She was shaken from sleep by the sound of howling. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, but when she ran a hand through her hair and leaves and twigs came out she determined it had been a while. She jumped when the wolves burst through the trees and waited to see the boy find the basket. When he appeared in the clearing she rose to a sitting position and watched as he approached it. He looked around, looking for her she realized, but when he didn't see her he returned to the basket. He wasn't as reserved this time. He obviously knew what it was. He looked surprised to find she had different items in the basket, but tossed the apples to the side once again.

She watched as he devoured the food with as much eagerness as the day before, eating every last bite. She never saw an apple reach his mouth though which disappointed her. He got up from the ground and she took that as a signal that he was finished, but something she hadn't expected happened. He bent down, picked up the basket, and to her astonishment, started walking towards her. She hadn't realized he had noticed her. They had never made eye contact. He must have just sensed that she was there.

She rose to her feet when he had reached her and he offered her the basket. She gave him a smile and when she took it from his hand she felt the roll of the apples in the basket once again. She gave him a stern look, reached in the basket, pulled out the apples, and did the same thing that she had done the day before. Maybe now he would get the message. She gave him another sweet smile and walked back to the castle.

It becomes a regular thing for them. She continues to bring him food, not every day, she doesn't want to raise suspicion, but she brings food as frequently as possible. To her amusement the pile of apples grows larger each visit.

Even though she feels more comfortable around him as the weeks go by she doesn't push it. She's not sure how he feels and she doesn't want to frighten him. 2 weeks after she started bringing food to him he allows her to sit next to him. She enjoys watching him enjoy the food. It's like he appreciates each bite and it always makes her smile. He has never smiled though, not even once.

It had been 3 days since she had last visited him. This time when she arrived he was waiting for her which she found quite odd. There was something different about the atmosphere around them, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

They sat in silence while he ate. She started pulling grass from the ground, a nervous habit she had picked up to fill the time as she waited for him to finish.

"Do you pity me?"

She halted mid tug. Her eyes widened in shock. When she looked up she saw him rolling an apple in his hands. He wasn't looking at her. He was concentrating on the apple.

They were the first words he had ever spoken to her. She was thrown by his accent, but she actually found it fitting.

She wanted to answer him, but the words died in her throat.

"I can tell you do." He continued. "When you smile I can see it. There's always something hidden behind it; a sadness. You feel sorry for me." It was like he was spitting his words at her.

She wanted to argue with him, but she knew he was right. A drop of water landed on her dress. At first she was confused, but when she reached up and touched her cheek she realized it was from her; she had started crying. Now that she was crying there was no way she would be able to answer him.

"Well you shouldn't." He said causing her to look at him through teary eyes.

Her feeling of sadness left when those words left his mouth and were replaced with anger. How rude of him to tell her how to feel. It was her right to feel however she wanted and no one was allowed to tell her otherwise. She was the princess after all, but then again he didn't know that. She had to remember that.

"And why is that?" She was finally able say. Her voice didn't come out as confident as she had wanted, but she didn't care.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and when she looked at him again he was looking straight at her. His stare was intense. It reminded her of the look her father would get sometimes when he was angry with her, but his stare didn't scare her like her father's did, it intrigued her.

He left her gaze and looked up at the sky. "Because I've never felt more free than when I'm running with my pack."

_My pack. _She could feel the emotion in his voice when he said it. It was like they meant everything to him, like they were his family and she believed him. They both fell silent and she took this time to collect her composure. Once she had calmed down she felt the need to speak again.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did they end up being your pack?" She asked.

She hoped he hadn't been offended by her nosiness. This was the first time he had ever spoken to her and she was instantly filled with the need to know everything about him.

"They saved my life." He answered. He had dropped the apple by this point. His arms were resting on his bent knees, his forehead rested on his clasped hands and he was looking at the ground. She watched him for several minutes. His shoulders were tense, his hands were gripped together tightly, but when he exhaled his body relaxed. He met her gaze again and she noticed a change in his demeanor. She could tell he was about to share something very personal with her and she repositioned herself to show him that she was ready to listen.

"My father was an angry man. I can't remember a time when he wasn't angry." His voice started to shake and that made her want to reach out and comfort him, but she was afraid that might be too intimate so she kept her composure and continued to listen to his story.

"When he would come home at night he would be even angrier than when he had left. He also came home smelling horrible. Just thinking about it makes me sick." He paused for a moment and she feared that he had actually just made himself ill, but then he continued. "He would take his anger out on my mother, throwing her across the room, slapping her until she bled. And when he was finished with her, if he hadn't passed out by that point, he would move on to me."

His confession made her stomach turn and she could feel the tears starting to form in her eyes, but she had to hold them back.

"One night was worse than all the others. It was storming outside. My father had come home very late, but as always my mother had waited up for him. She had put me to bed earlier, but the thunder from the storm had woken me and I was scared. When I had gone into the kitchen to find her my father had just come home. I had never seen so much anger in a man. He charged towards my mother and gripped her neck with both of his hands. He started strangling her and I did nothing to stop him. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do and by the time I had finally mustered up the courage to yell at him my mother's body had fallen lifeless in the chair."

Emma's heart felt like it had broken in half when he told her this, but what she feared was what he had yet to tell her.

"When he was finished with my mother I knew I was next. He could never walk that well when he came home so I knew that if I ran from him he wouldn't be able to catch me. So I ran right past him, out the front door and into the storm, but it was raining so hard that I could barely see anything. Somehow I had ended up in the woods, but I could hear my father yelling my name so I knew I couldn't stop. Unfortunately, since I couldn't see, I stepped right into a hole in the ground and my foot got stuck. I pulled and pulled and pulled, but my leg wouldn't come free. As I struggled, my father's voice grew closer and closer. Before I knew it he was right in front of me. I begged and begged for him not to hurt me, but he didn't listen. I thought it was all over until I saw a wolf leap in front of me and latch on to his neck. The wolf brought my father to the ground, thrashed its head and ripped my father's throat out."

Emma's heart had never beaten so fast. Her father never let her listen to his battle stories. "A young lady does not need to hear stories like these. They are far too dark and frightening." When he would tell her this she always felt like he was just being over protective, but now she understood why.

"I just sat there stunned, looking at my father's motionless body. The sight was gruesome, but I couldn't force myself to look away. Once I had recovered from shock I was able to free my foot. I tried to stand, but my legs were shaking uncontrollably. The wolf must have seen me struggling because it padded over and took the collar of my shirt in its mouth to help me stand. It must have felt it had done what it had come there to do because it started walking away. I didn't want it to leave because if it did-if it did,"

His emotions had finally caught up with him and he broke down in tears. His whole body moved as he sobbed heavily. Emma couldn't stop herself. She placed her hand on his shoulder and gripped it tightly. He lifted his head to look at her and she saw the pain in his eyes. She let him cry. It was almost as if he had never allowed himself to cry about it before.

When his sobbing stopped she knew he had to finish his story so she waited patiently for him to continue."I knew if the wolf had left me there I would have been completely alone. So I chased after it and gripped on to its fur as it led me to the rest of the pack. I must say they weren't to welcoming at first," he said with a chuckle "but after a while they accepted me as one of them. They became my new family and for once in my life I wasn't scared."

She didn't know what to say. What do you say to someone that has been through that experience? She had nothing to compare it to. Her father loved her and her mother and he would never hurt either of them. Now she understood why he didn't want her to pity him. It was odd to admit, but living with the wolves was probably the best thing for him.

"I'm so sorry." She was finally able to say. "I wish I could tell you that I know how you feel, but I can't."

She hadn't realized that her hand was still tightly gripping his shoulder until he shrugged. She instantly jerked her hand away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's okay. No one should ever know what that's like." He said.

She looked at him and he must have sensed her stare because he lifted his head to meet her gaze.

"But I want you to know that I don't pity you. In fact, I think I'm jealous of you." She admitted.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "Jealous? Of me? What are on earth do I have that someone could be jealous of?" He asked in disbelief.

"It's like what you said. You've never felt freer than when you are running with your pack. I've never felt free. I have eyes on me at all times and I can never go anywhere by myself. I feel like a caged bird that has had its wings clipped." She confessed.

"You sound like a princess or something." He chuckled.

She kept quiet, waiting for the realization to hit him. When she saw his eyes widen she knew it had.

"That means you must be Princess Emma." He realized.

He scrambled to his feet and she rose to hers slowly. When they were both standing, he slowing bowed to her. She hadn't expected that from him.

"You don't need to bow to me." She said.

When he returned to a standing position he gave her a slight smile. "I'm afraid it is customary my Princess. I have no choice." He smirked.

The exchange felt so wrong. Usually when people bowed to her she didn't find it so odd, but with him it was. After the story he had just told her she didn't feel like he had to bow to anyone.

She hadn't realized it, but it had grown dark outside. His story must have taken longer than she thought and she had been so captivated by it that she had lost track of time. She chewed her lip in irritation. She didn't want to just leave him like this, but if she didn't get back in time someone would notice that she was missing.

"I'm sorry to leave you like this, but I'm afraid it is time for me to go, less I really want to become a caged bird." She brushed the grass from her skirt, but it was still pretty stained. The cleaning maids were bound to have caught on by now, but to her knowledge they hadn't said anything to anyone. She'd have to do something special for them as a thank you.

"Will you be back tomorrow?" He asked. She noticed how hopeful he sounded and it warmed her heart.

"If you would like me to, I can." She confirmed.

"If you can, could you bring lemon cakes? I quite like those." He said while looking down and rocking on his heels. An action she found out of character for him, but adorable none the less.

When he looked up she gave him a smile and a nod and she walked away. She was in mid stride when she was interrupted by a crunch. She turned around to see he had taken a bite of an apple. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.

"Judging by the large pile of apples I had assumed you didn't like them." She mocked.

He finished chewing a chunk and swallowed. "Well, since you keep bringing them they must be important. So if the Princess demands then you must obey." He took another bite and gave her a wink.

She rolled her eyes and started walking away, but she was interrupted yet again.

"My name is Graham by the way. You never asked, but I thought you should know." He said.

Graham. She liked that name. It certainly fit him.

"And just so you know, it's not in a packs nature to stay in one place for too long. I expect we'll be moving along in a couple of days. I never know where we will go next. I'm not sure how far it will be, but I promise you, I will come back." He said sincerely.

She froze. He was leaving? But they had just had a real conversation for the first time. She wasn't ready to let him go. But he had promised that he would come back and he sounded sincere which made her feel a little better.

"How will I know when you've gone?" She asked.

"I'll think of something." He said with a wink.

She gave him a smile and turned around to walk away again.

"Goodnight Princess Emma!" He exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance and didn't even bother turning around.

"Goodnight Graham!" She yelled back.

3 days later when she came back to the den, a lone apple was lying on the ground in front of the entrance. That was the signal. He was gone. She had just seen him yesterday and now he could be a million miles away.

She felt empty. Like a part of her was missing. Is this what it was going to feel like every time he left? What if he never returned like he had promised? She didn't want to be empty for the rest of her life so she had to keep hope that he would in fact return. No matter how long it took, she would wait for him.

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**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm so excited for this story I can't even begin to tell you :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank all of you for your reviews. I'm glad you're all excited for this story and I hope it lives up to your expectations.  
**

**I do not own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters.  
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**6 years later….**

She was seeing him tonight. He had been gone for a year, the longest he had ever been away and she couldn't have been more impatient.

Graham leaving had never gotten any easier for her. The first time he left he had only been gone for a few weeks. She had gone back to their spot every day after he had left and by the third week she had just about given up. After waiting for hours, she returned home disappointed and heartbroken. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want it to mean that much to her, but that night when she had gone to bed she couldn't hold it in any longer. She cried herself to sleep and woke the next morning to a sore stomach from sobbing so heavily.

She was crazy enough to venture into the woods again the next day. She had almost come to her senses half way through the trip and turned around, but something stopped her. It was like there was a voice in the back of her mind was saying _"Maybe today is the day." _She chose to listen to her subconscious, but this would be the last time she would wait for him.

She had become a woman possessed. A rut had started forming in the dirt along the path that she would walk every day. She had become distant from her parents, giving them one word answers when they would ask her about something. They didn't pry any further once she had answered, but she could see the concern in their eyes.

The apple Graham had left as a signal of his absence had all but disappeared. It had grown brown and bruised with worms burrowing their way through it. It was like a physical representation of how she felt. The deteriorating of her optimism and hope as each day passed and he hadn't returned.

Her gaze drifted down to her feet and she watched as each step came down on one of the many foot prints that had become permanently imprinted in the dirt; every foot print that had lead to her disappointment. She kept her eyes down, hypnotized by the sight, until she knew she had reached the clearing by the den. She took a deep breath to prepare herself. Ready to see an empty field just like all the other times she had come.

When she looked up she froze. Her entire body went numb and the basket she had been carrying slipped from her hand. All of the other sounds around her were drowned out by the pounding of her heart in her ears. Across the field, standing by the entrance of the den, was Graham. Sitting next to him was the white wolf pup she had seen him sleep by the first night they had met. Since it had been asleep when she had seen it last she hadn't been able to see that it had one red eye. It was staring at her and she felt like it could see right through to her soul.

Instinct took over. She had no control over her body as it broke into a sprint and ran straight towards him. She smacked full force right into his chest. Her arms enveloped around him as she tackled him to the ground. She held him as tight as he could and she felt him place his hand on her back. They stayed like that for a several minutes, laying in silence.

"You came back." She finally said into his chest.

"Did you ever doubt I would?" He questioned.

She didn't want him to know that she had almost given up. She didn't want him to know how much she had cried over him. She was so consumed with emotion that she couldn't form words to answer him. She shook her head in response and burrowed her face in his chest.

The food she had brought for them to share had gone untouched that night. They didn't untangle from each others arms until Emma had pushed the limits of her time with him to the last second. She left the basket with him so that he would have something to eat later. They said goodnight to one another and for the first time in weeks Emma slept soundly through the night with a smile on their face.

Their reunion did not last long. He was gone 5 days later, the apple he left taunting her the moment she entered the clearing. She refused to let it get to her though. He had returned once so he would do it again. She kept herself strong with that mantra as the years past and he came and went. She never knew how long he would stay, when he would leave, and how long he would be gone, nor did he. She was happiest when he was around and very solemn when he was gone, but she refused to cry.

They learned a lot about each other over the years. Graham learned of Emma's love for reading. Most of the days they were together she would bring stacks of books to read, sometimes in silence and sometimes, when he asked, she would read out loud to him. He would listen intently to every word she read, truly captivated by each story she told and the emotion she would put into it.

When she wasn't reading, Emma watched Graham practice his archery, which she had learned he had picked up as a way of survival.

"When you don't have a princess bringing you the food of kings you have to learn to fend for yourself." He had explained to her as he laced his bow, a bow he had handmade with arrows to match.

She was 13 when she saw him kill for the first time. He had just returned from being gone for a month and he insisted on showing her how it was done. She giggled at how excited he was. It was so child like. She was a bit apprehensive at first. She wasn't sure if she wanted to see an animal shot and killed, but if it made Graham happy then she would do it for his sake. She was shocked by Grahams' actions when he had killed the animal. Tears were falling freely and he thanked the animal for the gift of its life so that he may live. She thought she would have been offended by the act of hunting, but when Graham did it, it was like a spiritual experience and she took it to heart.

When Graham had returned the first time with the white wolf by his side she had thought nothing of it, but each time he returned it would be by his side and she felt the need to ask.

"He's like my little brother. He panics when I'm gone so I decided to let him come with me." He explained.

She looked at the wolf and it was staring right back as if looking for her sign of approval, so she nodded her head in understanding.

"I've named him Whisper." Graham said as he ruffled the wolfs fur.

She would have been blind not to notice the change in Graham over the years. He had grown as fast as a beanstalk and was taller than her by the age of 15. His shoulders had grown broader and the definition is his muscles were more apparent. His time in the wild had made him more rugged and at times she found she couldn't stop staring.

Whisper had changed as well. No longer a tiny, innocent wolf pup, he was now a large menacing creature. Emma felt no need to worry though; he was the gentlest wolf she had ever seen. It even laid its head in her lap as she read and allowed her to stroke his fur soothingly.

She wasn't the only one who had noticed changes in appearance. She had caught Graham staring at her a few times. Each time he would quickly look away and act like he had been doing nothing. Emma had grown into her womanly figure by 15; hips wider, breasts fuller, and she had grown a few inches taller as well. She had never thought of herself as a true beauty; her chin was too sharp and her nose was too long, but when she would catch Graham staring at her she felt like the most beautiful girl in the entire kingdom.

The last time she had seen him was a sweltering hot summer's day. Graham brought her to a lake he had discovered deeper in the woods. He didn't hesitate to dive in; his shirt had been thrown off and forgotten before they had even reached the lake itself. He broke into a sprint and dove right in before Emma had even reached the water's edge. The cool water kissed her toes and the feeling was refreshing compared to the heat from the sun beating down on her.

Graham resurfaced from under the water, thrashing his head from side to side sending water flying from his soaked hair. Emma bit her lip as she saw the water glisten on his chest.

"Come on in Em, the water feels great!" Graham yelled, ushering her with his hands to join him.

The thought of joining him had never crossed her mind. It had meant that she would have had to get undressed in front of him, which she certainly wasn't going to do. She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No, I think I'm fine with just my feet being in the water, thank you." She answered, giving him a confident smile.

"Come on Em!" He whined.

She shook her head again and stuck her nose in the air. The cutesy nickname he had given her was not going to work on her.

A devilish smirk appeared on Grahams' face as he made his way towards the shore. Emma wasn't able to comprehend what was going on until it was too late. She shrieked when Graham swooped her up in his arms and carried her into the water.

"Graham, you put me down right now!" She ordered, giving him a stern look.

His grin only grew wider as he carried her further into the water. She had stopped fighting him when his grip had grown too tight, she knew there was no point.

"What ever happened to doing as the princess demands?" She mocked.

"I'm feeling a bit rebellious today." He replied with a wink.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed at his answer. A shiver ran down her spine when the water had finally reached her. Graham was waist deep, but he showed no intention of stopping. As the water rose higher around her, Emma started to panic.

"Graham, please take me back to the shore. If you do I'll bring you a basket full of just lemon cakes, I promise." She pleaded desperately.

He only chuckled and continued on. "What, is Princess Emma scared of a little water?" He joked.

She looked away from him so he couldn't see her face. Her arms that were wound around his neck gripped him tighter.

"Emma, look at me." He urged.

She turned to face him and she saw the recognition in his face when he realized how scared she was.

"Do you know how to swim?" He asked seriously.

She shook her head, feeling ashamed and averted his gaze again. She never liked to show Graham how weak she really was. How much of a princess she really was.

"Hey," He said, using his finger to lift her chin to meet his gaze. She took in his concerned expression. "I've got you. I'm not gonna let you go, okay?"

She gave him a slow nod as he let go of her legs. The water was now at her chest. Her legs swayed freely in the water, but she panicked when she realized she wasn't touching the bottom. She scrambled, trying to get closer to Graham, if that was even possible. She wrapped her legs around his waist and buried her face in his neck.

"It's okay Emma. I've got you." He said, reassuringly rubbing her back.

After a few moments, Emma relaxed and unhooked her legs from around his waist.

"See, it's not so bad." He said giving her a smile.

She nodded and smiled in return, truly liking the way the water felt. They spent the entire day in the water talking about nonsense. Graham's hands never left Emma's waist and her arms stayed wrapped around his neck.

Emma had just finished venting about how her father had started encouraging her to find a male suitor when she noticed Graham hadn't said a word.

"Don't you think that's ridiculous Graham?" She asked, trying to get some sort of response out of him.

His mouth had formed a straight line and his eyes, though they were averting her gaze, looked distant and disconnected.

"What's so wrong with finding someone who will love you?" He questioned. "Someone to care for you when you're sick, protect you from danger, give you children." His body tensed with every word that left his mouth. His words passing through gritted teeth. "Please, tell me what is so wrong with that?" He said in an angry tone.

It scared her how enraged he was getting. She could practically feel his body vibrating with anger.

"I guess I never thought about it that way." She said feeling embarrassed.

She didn't like thinking about how she was to be married off to man that she barely knew. She was in no way ready to settle down and have children. Her father had brought up the idea quite frequently in the past year and every time he would mention it she would refuse to talk about it.

"I can never be that person for anyone."

She looked up at him and her stomach felt like it had dropped at the sight of his pained expression.

"A boy raised by wolves does not make for a suitable husband. I have no land. I have no place to live and I have no money. From birth I was destined to be alone and love the thing that I am never meant to have."

His tough demeanor had deflated right before her eyes. How could he think he didn't deserve to be loved? How could he think he wasn't allowed to love? His pain felt so real to her and for a second she thought that maybe….

"Graham, I,"

"The sun is starting to set. You should probably start heading back." He said cutting her off.

He carried her back to the shore and placed her on her feet. Whisper whined beside her, obviously sensing Graham's uneasiness. They walked in silence to the end of the woods. He had never come this far with her before. Something was not right. When the window to her room was in sight she turned to look at him. His body was rigid and he refused to look at her.

"Graham, is everything okay?" She asked concerned.

"Everything's fine. Why wouldn't it be?" He spat.

She flinched at his answer, like his words were venom.

"You should probably get to your room before someone notices you're out here." He ordered.

She was hurt by how cold he was being. Why was he acting this way? Were her thoughts on finding love that offensive to him? Had she offended him in some other way that she hadn't realized?

"Goodnight." He said, void of any emotion.

Emma was too upset to respond. She sprinted away from him as fast as he could so he wouldn't see the tears forming in her eyes and quickly scaled the wall to her window. Once she had reached her room she turned to look out the window to find Graham gone.

What had happened to make Graham so angry and distant? She finally let go of the tears she had been holding back and they poured down her face. She didn't even bother removing her soaked clothes as she climbed into bed. She curled up into a ball, clutched a pillow close to her chest and cried.

The next day he was gone. No apple was left, but she could feel his absence in the air. She thought it had been hard the first time he had left, but this was a million times worse. She was hurt that he hadn't even bother leaving a signal the let her know he had left. She had to enter the den just to be sure, something she hadn't done since the night Graham had saved her life, only to find it empty.

She still went back every day, every day for an entire month before she gave up. The months went by achingly slow and without realizing it, a year had passed since they had last seen each other. She never stopped thinking about him. He was always at the back of her mind. She was always wondering what he was doing and if he was happy. Had he found someone to love? She didn't like thinking about that; Graham finding love. It made her feel so many different things; angry, disgusted, betrayed.

She had gotten a letter this morning. She was woken from her sleep by a pecking at her window. She stretched and yawned and all the while the pecking continued. When she opened the window a little blue bird flew in and landed on her vanity. As she surveyed it closely she noticed it was holding a yellow piece of parchment in its beak. When she took it from the bird it went back out the window.

When she opened the letter there were only a few words scribbled on the page.

_Meet me by the den tonight_

She lifted a shaky hand to her mouth in shock. It was him. After all this time he had come back. He hadn't forgotten about her. She brought the letter to her chest and held it against her heart. The only thought that occupied her mind was their meeting. She could see it clearly in her mind: seeing him standing by the den with Whisper, engulfing her in a hug, apologizing for how he acted before he left, and then...and then...

"Don't you think so Emma?"

Her daydream was interrupted by the sound of Arianna's voice bringing her back to reality.

"Oh yes, definitely." She responded, hoping it was the right answer to make it seem like she was listening.

Arianna rolled her eyes. "You were thinking about him again weren't you?"

She could never get anything past Arianna. They had been best friends since birth, born around the same time. Arianna's mother, Cinderella, had been pregnant around the same time as Emma's.

She had been a bit apprehensive about telling Arianna about Graham. Arianna had always been picky about boys. No boy had ever seemed to meet her expectations. That being said, a boy that was raised by wolves would certainly be out of the question.

Emma hadn't been able to hide her depression from Arianna during the months following Graham's sudden disappearance and Arianna hadn't stopped pestering her until she finally fessed up. Emma was thrown by her reaction when she stated how romantic it sounded. Graham having saved her from the wolves, Emma bringing him food so he wouldn't starve, secretly meeting for years. Emma refused to use the word romantic as a way to describe their friendship, but Arianna didn't believe her.

"What makes you think I was thinking about him?" Emma said.

Arianna scoffed at her denial and gave her a knowing look. "Please Emma, you've been distracted since the moment I arrived. You've been staring out the window for the past hour and I saw you slip that note into the top of your dress, which I'm sure is from him."

Emma huffed at Arianna being right, to which Arianna gave an obnoxious smirk.

"So?" Arianna asked.

"So what?" Emma replied.

"What did he say?" She pushed.

"He wants me to meet him tonight." Emma said as if it meant nothing to her.

Arianna squealed and clapped her hands excitedly. "Are you going to? Please tell me you're going to. It's so romantic." She gushed.

Emma exhaled and ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm not sure." She answered.

"Not sure!" Arianna screamed.

Emma glared at her, signaling her to keep her voice down so no one would think there was a problem. Arianna gave her an apologetic look to which Emma nodded in acceptance.

"How can you not be sure?" She whispered. "He's come back after all this time to see you and you're not sure if you're even going to go?"

Emma exhaled in frustration. "I was elated when I had received the letter from him." She explained. "He still thought about me after all this time, but then," Her body grew tense and her hands gripped the edge of the chair she was sitting on tightly. "The feeling of absolute rage overcame me."

As she was explaining her thoughts and feelings to Arianna, that same feeling overcame her again, only this time it grew more and more intense with each word that left her mouth.

"He left with no explanation after acting so out of character and guarded the night before. I haven't seen or heard from him in over a year and now he sends me a letter demanding me, not asking gentlemanly, but demanding me to meet him tonight. He has no right to demand anything from me! If anything he should be begging me to meet him, promising me an explanation to his bizarre behavior! He left me brokenhearted and confused, expecting me to obey him like his wolf Whisper!" She spat in disgust. "I am a princess not a wolf!"

Consumed by her rage, Emma had risen from her seat and was now towering over Arianna, who was sitting wide-eyed and cowering in fear. Her voice and escalated in volume, her last exclamation still echoing through the room.

Coming down from her emotional high, Emma returned to her seat, smoothing down her dress and fixing her frazzled hair.

"I apologize for my outburst. That was very unladylike of me." Emma stated, regretting the way she had reacted.

She looked down at her hands in her lap in shame, but they were soon covered by Arianna's hand, gripping them tightly. Emma lifted her head to meet Arianna's gaze and she saw forgiveness in her eyes.

"It's okay Emma. I can understand why you feel that way, but I don't think that it should keep you from meeting him tonight. Give him a chance to explain himself and then decide if he deserves your forgiveness." She encouraged her with a smile.

Emma nodded her head in agreement and was able to muster up a slight smile.

"Wonderful!" Arianna exclaimed clapping her hands together.

She stood from her seat and held her hand out for Emma to take.

"Now, let's pick out a dress for you to meet him in tonight. You need to show him what he has been missing." She said with a sneaky smile and a wink.

The girls spent hours smiling and laughing while Emma tried on several different dresses and Arianna styled her hair. Emma was going to make Graham feel sorry he had ever left.

For a summer night it was quite cool. Emma shivered and her teeth chattered as a cool breeze blew through the trees. She rubbed her arms attempting to keep herself warm with no avail. She had risked everything being out of her room so late, waiting for Graham to show. She had been perplexed when she arrived at the clearing and he wasn't already there waiting for her. If he had planned on explaining himself and asking for forgiveness wouldn't he want to be on time? How had she let Arianna convince her that this was a good idea?

"Emma." A deep voice came from behind her. It was laced with an accent she knew well.

She turned slowly to find him standing a good distance away from her with Whisper at his side. He looked taller and more muscular. He was dressed in his usual shirt and pants, but with a fur pelt around his shoulders. His bow and arrows slung on his back. His hair had grown fuller and a beard had grown on his face. There was something strange about his face. He looked older than he truly was; older with worry.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot impatiently.

"For someone who left without explanation only to return a year later, you would think they would want to be on time for a meeting they suggested." She said.

His shoulders slumped in embarrassment and Whisper whined beside him.

"I know and I'm sorry, but the truth is I was actually here the entire time while you waited." He admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "I thought I was ready to face you, but when I saw you tonight all my confidence disappeared. When I felt I had made you wait long enough I decided to reveal myself to you. Emma, I'm sorry. I feel like I need to explain,"

She cut him off before he was able to finish.

"You're damn right you need to explain. Explain to me why you were acting so strange that last night we were together. Explain to me why you left without saying a word or leaving our signal. Explain to me why you were gone for a year. You've never left for that long. Why Graham? Why?"

She was crying. She had wanted to look strong in front of him, like his absence hadn't broken her, but she had lost control of her composure the moment she laid eyes on him.

She saw the sadness in his eyes. He signaled for Whisper to stay seated before he started walking towards her. When he was standing right in front of her he tried to place his hand on her arm as a form of comfort, but she shifted out of his reach. He retracted his arm and looked down at the ground, nodding in understanding of her need for space.

"Do you remember what we were talking about the night before I left?" He asked hopefully.

She decided to meet his gaze and listen to his explanation. Of course she remembered what they had talked about. She remembered that day as if it had happened yesterday. She only gave him a nod in response.

"You had told me about your father's plan to introduce you to some male suitors." He said as if she had needed reminding. "I didn't want to react the way that I did. I shouldn't have felt any emotion other than excitement for you, but I did. I was angry, livid even. I felt like no one deserved to have you, to know you, to love you…the way I do."

Her eyes widened in shock. She was going to say something, but Graham stopped her by placing a finger on her lips.

"Please, let me finish. I promise that once I'm done speaking you can yell at me all you want, beat me even if that's how you feel."

He waited for a response and she gave him a nod.

"I had tried to convince myself that I didn't feel that way about you; that I hadn't fallen in love with you. How could a princess ever feel that way about a boy raised by wolves? A boy with no house to his name, which meant he had no place by a princess. I hated myself for it."

She was shocked by his choice of words and the emotions that went with them. He hated himself for loving her. Was loving her such a horrible thing?

"I hated that I had allowed myself to feel so intimately about you. When you had brought up the idea of male suitors I couldn't listen, I refused to listen. So I shut myself out. I decided the best thing for me to do was leave. It would keep me from temptation and keep you from growing too attached to me, keep you from feeling for me the way I feel about you. I didn't leave the signal for you when I had left because I felt a clean break would be best. That if I gave you a reason to hate me then you would forget about me and I wouldn't be in the back of your mind when the suitors came for your hand. I thought I would be able to do it; leave with no regret and for the first few months I was fine, but my emotions caught up with me and soon it was too much to bear. I had to see you. I didn't know if you would show, if you would even give me the light of day and it probably would have been better if you hadn't, but I can't say that I'm not happy to see you."

She was having a hard time processing the information he had unloaded on her. She just couldn't wrap her head around it. It was so much to take in and Graham must have noticed that.

She allowed him to place both of his hands on her shoulders as he forced her to look at him.

"I love you, Emma. I tried to fight it. Every day, no, every second that I was with you was like a personal battle over my emotions, but in the end I lost." Her heart swelled with emotion at his statement. He loved her.

"But Emma, you can't love me."

Her brow furrowed in frustration at his last statement. He was telling her how to feel again and she wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"No." She growled, forcing his hands off of her shoulders and pointing a finger at him. "You do not tell me how to feel. You have no right."

She saw him gulp in fear. He knew he was in trouble.

"Do you have any idea how I felt that night?" She asked.

He shook his head no.

"I felt lost and confused. I had no idea why you had shut yourself off from me and when you left…when you left," The tears were coming, but she had to fight them. She needed to finish what she had to say. "I was heartbroken. What had I done that had offended you so that you felt you had to leave without telling me? I shut myself off from the world and cried for months. You had hoped that you leaving would keep me from falling in love with you, but you were too late. You were probably 3 years too late."

During her rant she had moved closer to him so now their faces were mere inches apart.

"Emma, you can't love me. I have nothing to offer you, nothing a princess deserves. I don't deserve your love." He tried to convince her.

She threw her arms up in frustration and groaned. "How can you think that you don't deserve to be loved? If anyone deserves to be happy and in love it's you! How can you not see that?"

He was going to respond back, she knew it. She had to do something to stop him and before she could stop herself, she gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her in a passionate kiss.

It was like her whole world stopped. Her eyes fluttered closed and she sunk into the feeling of her lips on his. At first his lips had been firm and unresponsive, but soon he relaxed and she felt them move against hers. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her further into him. She had never felt anything like it before and she couldn't get enough of it, but she had to pull away. When they broke apart she rested her forehead on his and they were both breathing heavily.

"If you didn't want me to fall in love with you than you should have just let the wolves eat me that night." She giggled and he chuckled with her.

"I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to do that." He said.

"Was it what you expected?" She asked, afraid what his answer would be and bit her lip in anticipation.

"Better than I could have ever imagined." He admitted to her delight.

She nuzzled the side of his face and leaned in to meet his lips, but he backed away.

"Emma, we can't." He warned.

She placed a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at her.

"Don't you tell me what I can and can't do, you can't stop me from feeling the way I feel about you." She scolded. "We can find a way to be together. We can work it out." She pleaded.

He was silent for a few moments and she was scared that he would refuse her still.

"No one can know. It has to be our little secret." He answered.

She jumped excitedly and gave him another passionate kiss, but she pulled back and gasped.

"What is it?" Graham asked looking worried, checking her body, scared she was hurt.

"Don't be mad," She begged and he gave her a confused look. "But someone does know about you. My friend, Arianna, she could tell there was something wrong with me after you left and she wouldn't leave me alone until I told her. She's known for months and she hasn't said a word to anyone, but she doesn't have to know we are together. I can lie to her, tell her you fell in love with someone else and you came back to say goodbye to me." She assured him.

"I could never fall in love with anyone else." He whispered seductively in her ear.

Her heart swooned, but she couldn't let herself get caught up in it.

"But the less she knows the better." He agreed.

She nodded her head and rested it on his chest. They stayed silent, wrapped in each others arms, basking in the moment until Emma felt she needed to voice one more concern.

"When will you be leaving again?" She asked.

She felt is chest rise and fall with laughter. "You're still expecting me to leave after all of that?" He asked jokingly, but when he looked down at her concerned expression he realized this was no joking matter. "Well I've kind of outgrown my pack. Whisper has grown too attached to me so the rest of the wolves don't acknowledge him. Now that I can hunt I don't have to depend on the pack for food and I can trade or sell my kills for food or money," He fell silent, mulling over his options. "So I think I'm going to stay for a while." He said giving her a smile.

Her expression was that of pure happiness as she hugged him tightly. "Good, because I don't think I could handle you leaving me again." She said and he could feel the pain in her voice. "Do you need a place to stay? I'm sure I can sneak you into the castle,"

He cut her off with the shake of his head. "I'm perfectly fine with staying in the woods and if worse comes to worse there is an inn nearby. I can get money to pay for it by selling my kills." He saw the disappointment in her face and he lifted her chin so she could meet his gaze. "I won't be far away. We can still see each other every day."

He reassured her with another kiss and she instantly felt better. She felt like she was floating, like she wasn't even a part of this world and neither was he. She wanted this moment to last forever, but she knew it couldn't. She had to go back to the castle and he couldn't follow. What they were doing was dangerous, but she saw no other option.

He walked her back, hand-in-hand, to the edge of the forest. The only other time he had come this far was the night before he left last. She turned to look at him and he was smiling.

"Why are you smiling when we are supposed to be saying goodbye?" She asked confused.

"Because I know I'll be seeing you tomorrow." He answered before giving her a kiss.

When they broke apart her eyes fluttered open and Graham was still smiling.

"Goodnight Princess Emma."

After all this time he still said this to her and over time it had started to grow on her.

"Goodnight Graham." She said lovingly.

They shared one more kiss before Emma climbed to her room. When she was safely inside she turned to look out the window and unlike last time Graham was still standing there. She waved and he waved back before he turned and walked back into the forest.

She threw herself on her bed face first and screamed into her pillow. Her body felt electrified and she knew that there was no way she would fall asleep tonight. She was going to have to work hard to hide her happiness from Arianna. Arianna, she felt horrible for having to hide this from her. There were no secrets between them, they told each other everything. But if she was going to be with Graham no one could know, not even someone she trusted as much as Arianna. It would be worth it, that's what she had to keep telling herself, it would all be worth it.

* * *

**Graham and Emma are together, but they're keeping it a secret. How long do you think that will last? Get ready folks, it's about to get juicy ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

_She was running through the forest, the only source of light coming from the moon. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest. Her legs were on fire from running, running, running, but from what? She kept looking over her shoulder to see what was chasing her, but she saw nothing. All she heard was a deep growling in her ear and that's what kept her moving. _

_She looked behind her for just a moment and didn't notice the root from a tree sticking out from the earth. Her foot hooked underneath it, twisting at an awkward angle, and pain shot through her leg. She tumbled to the ground, gripping her ankle in agony. She rocked back and forth, wincing in pain. The growling grew closer and closer, but she couldn't move. Suddenly all the noises around her stopped. She couldn't hear anything; not the blowing of the wind, not the rustling of the leaves, not even the breath from her lungs. She heard nothing. _

_As she assessed the magnitude of her injury she saw a dark shadow step out from behind the trees a few feet in front of her. It had an aurora of pure evil that made her feel uneasy. _

"_Emma." It growled. _

_Her eyes widened in shock and all of the oxygen left her lungs. It staggered towards her. She attempted to get up only to fall back down when she took a step. The shadow was drawing nearer and all she could do was crawl away. _

"_Emma." She heard it growl again._

_Emma_

_Emma_

_Emma_

_When she turned to look behind her, she found Graham towering above her. He was staring at her with hunger in his eyes, eyes that used to be deep blue, but were now a soulless black. _

_He crouched to her level. There was something wild about him, something not right. He leaned in closer to her face, snarling and teeth showing. He launched himself forward and then….._

Emma shot straight up in bed, gasping for air. Her eyes met the terrified expression of her handmaiden, whose hands were recoiling as if she had touched something hot.

"My lady, I'm sorry to have woken you, but we must get you ready for today's festivities."

It took Emma several moments to collect her thoughts. It was all a dream, she realized, but why had she dreamt of Graham attacking her? He was inhuman, it showed in his eyes. But it was only a dream, nothing else. But now what was her handmaiden saying about having to get ready?

Emma furrowed her brow in confusion. "I'm afraid I don't know what festivities you are referring to."

"Have you forgotten?" She said giving Emma a baffled look.

Emma wasn't about to openly admit that she had indeed forgotten, so she kept quiet.

"Your suitors will be arriving soon. We must get you bathed and ready."

Emma went through the motions of getting ready, but her mind was somewhere else completely. She had been so caught up with Graham these past few days that she had completely forgotten about the agreement she had made with her father.

It had been the week before Graham's return. Her father had grown more persistent with his encouraging of Emma finding a suitor and she was at her wits end.

"You've postponed this long enough, Emma." Her father scolded."You're sixteen now, the perfect marrying age."

She rolled her eyes at his statement. "Alright father, how about we invite all the princes in the land to our castle and have them fight for my heart." She jokingly suggested.

She returned to picking at her food, thinking the conversation had been averted.

"That's a brilliant idea Emma. I'll start working on the preparations now." He smacked the table in affirmation before rising from his chair and leaving the room.

Emma dropped her fork and it clanged on her plate. She scrambled from her chair in a panic.

"Wait!" She yelled in protest. "I wasn't being serious, it was only a joke!"

She chased him into the hallway, but it was too late. By the next day her father had sent out the invitations and a tourney for her hand had been set for the next week.

She had been dreading the tourney since the moment she suggested it, but every thought left her mind when the letter from Graham had arrived. Since then, he had occupied every second of every day. She had lost track of time and forgotten about the tourney completely. In fact, Graham knew nothing about it. How was he going to react when she told him? Her pulse quickened at the thought.

After she had bathed, her handmaidens rubbed sweet smelling oils into her skin. Next, they helped her into a dusty pink velvet gown. Her hair was left to flow down her back in loose curls and very minimal make up was added to her face.

"Is the Princess ready?" Her mother asked with an eager smile on her face as she peeked from behind Emma's bedroom door.

"Just about." One of her handmaidens responded as Snow giddily approached to inspect their work on Emma. She gave Emma a sweet smile as she brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Oh Emma," She gushed as she grabbed both of Emma's hands and took a step back to take it all in. "You look beautiful."

When she looked up for a response, Emma only gave her a smile.

She felt like an animal up for auction. She didn't want to look beautiful. She wanted to look ugly so that no man will want to fight for her. They would flee in horror and spread word of the hideous Princess so that no man would ever ask for her hand in marriage.

"Well, they should start arriving at any moments so let us go down to the throne room."

Once the finishing touches were done on Emma, Snow grabbed her hand, dragging her to the throne room, Emma stumbling behind her.

The room was full of guards, handmaidens, and those who lived within the wall of the castle. The knights stood at attention and the horns blared, alerting the kingdom of the first prince's arrival.

"Presenting Prince Gaven of House Bramwell." The knight announced.

He entered with his banner men, carrying flags with the symbol of his kingdom; swimming fish. He was tall and lanky with a thin face, dressed from head to toe in different shades of blue and glimmering silver, almost scale like. His hair was a dirty blonde, his eyes an icy blue, and his skin was slightly bronzed.

The Bramwell's controlled the islands in the South Sea, as they had for centuries. Alexi Bramwell had happened upon the islands by mistake. Whey surveying the land, Alexi and his army of 7 men were attacked by a vicious beast. It had shred his men to pieces and he alone was left to face it. With one swing of his mighty sword Poseidon, the beasts head came clean off and Alexi claimed the unoccupied islands in the name of the Bramwell's.

The prince walked with determination and purpose. When he had reached the royal family he knelt.

"Welcome Prince Gaven of Bramwell." King James roared.

The prince returned to his feet and stood at attention with his hands behind his back.

"What have you brought my daughter from your kingdom?" Her father asked.

The prince stepped aside as one of his servants strode past him towards Emma. The servant knelt in front of her and presented her with a small wooden box. He pried it open and resting on a pillow of velvet was a pair of hair pins. They were made of gold with a series of fish engraved on both. They were truly beautiful.

Emma accepted them graciously, taking them from the servant with a smile and a nod. She then said thank you to Prince Gaven and he gave her a smile before he turned and exited the room.

It was only a few minutes until the horns blew again, announcing the arrival of the next suitor.

"Presenting Prince Cedric of House Bowman."

The banner was that of a brown bear and with colors of green, brown, and gold. Cedric had fiery auburn hair, green eyes, a square jaw, and fair skin. He was dressed in green velvet and leather pants with a cloak and boots made from fur.

The Bowman's controlled the lands further north, their castle built deep within the valley of the mountains. They were a very head strong and stubborn family with many enemies. It was said that the Merciless Barrett Bowman had slain the evil Troll King to take control of the mountains.

Prince Cedric presented her with an assortment of sweet smelling perfumes and oils.

As the princes kept coming, much of the routine was the same. It was getting more and more difficult for Emma to act cordial and pleased as the ordeal dragged on. She had no idea there were so many different kingdoms and as the day went on their faces seemed to blend together.

There were a few that still stuck out in her mind; there was Prince Edmund of House Dallen. He was by far the largest of the princes she had seen all day, a round face with stubby arms and legs. He came from the kingdom in the east, which was more of an eyesore to the rest of the kingdoms. Their colors were yellow and black with the boar as their symbol. His hair was a mop of brown curls on top of his head and his eyes were a muddy brown to match. He had given her a trunk full of gowns made of silk, velvet, and satin.

And then there was Prince Dempsey of House Brennan. He was by far the most arrogant man she had ever seen. He had entered the room as if he was the king himself. He flowed as swiftly as the flags of his kingdom; the eagle of blue and white. He was tall and skinny, almost snake like. The Brennan's controlled the lands in the west, where a dark shadow had over cast the kingdom. It was one of the largest kingdoms in the land, though they argued they were slightly larger than the rest.

He barely knelt when he had reached Emma and looked smug as she was presented her gift; a golden brush engraved with vines and flowers with a hand mirror to match.

But out of all of the princes there was one that she could not forget. He was Prince Brindley of House Alastair. She watched as his flags were presented; a white flag with a black wolf. The Alastair kingdom was the closet in proximity to her home. The Alastair's were a proud family, but not arrogant. They were strong willed and held family as the utmost importance.

He entered proudly, dressed in all white, which made his raven black hair stand out and his grey eyes more striking against his porcelain skin. He had a sculpted face with a sharp jaw, broad muscular shoulders, and was almost a foot taller than her.

For the first moment that day Emma felt self-conscious and it only worsened as he drew closer. She wanted a mirror so she could check her makeup and make sure nothing had smeared, she wanted to make sure her hair was in place and not like a wild lions mane.

Her breath hitched when he knelt in front of her and when his gift was presented he gave her a smile that made her blush. She stared in awe when the lid of the box was lifted. Inside was the most breathtaking necklace she had ever seen. The collar was made purely of molded gold with a generously sized black diamond hanging from it. When the light caught it, the diamond glimmered and shined like nothing she had ever seen.

Once the exchange was finished and Prince Brindley had left, her father rose from his throne.

"Now that all of the suitors have presented their gifts you all may retire to your camps." His order roared through the room. "You all shall return tonight for the feast."

After his last word was spoken he exited the room, followed by Snow and then Emma. Emma's legs were slightly shaking from her encounter with Prince Brindley. How had he affected her so? The only other time she had ever felt like that was when she had kissed Graham.

"You did great sweetheart." Her mother praised her, shaking Emma from her thoughts.

Emma only gave her a nod and a forced smile.

"Now let's get you changed for the feast tonight." She placed her hand on Emma's back guiding her towards her room.

For the feast, Emma's hair was done up in a bun and she wore a dark violet satin gown with silver flower embellishments around the neckline and hem.

When she entered the crowded room with her parents all eyes were on her. They sat at a long table at the front of the room. An extra chair was placed next Emma's place, she assumed it was for the suitors she would be eating with tonight.

"Will Prince Gaven please join us." Her father ordered.

She saw him rise from his seat in the distance. He quickly made his way towards the front and took his seat next to Emma, giving her a smile as he scooted his chair forward.

"Let the feast begin." Her father announce cheerfully.

The meal consisted of a wide variation of meats, chicken, potatoes, steamed greens, and lots of ale and wine to go around.

Emma wasn't sure what was expected of her in this situation. Was she supposed to speak first or was Prince Gaven? Was she allowed to eat before they spoke or should she wait until after they had exchanged pleasantries? She decided that her hunger was more important, so she grabbed her fork and knife and cut a piece of meat before bringing it to her mouth. From the corner of her eye she noticed Prince Gaven take this as a cue that it was okay for him to eat as well. They chewed in an awkward silence for several minutes. Emma had just taken a sip of wine when he decided to speak up.

"Have you ever been on a ship Princess?" He asked.

She wiped the sides or her mouth with a napkin before speaking. "I'm afraid that I haven't." She admitted. "I've always wondered what it would be like though."

She heard him sigh happily. "It's the most calming experience you will ever have; the sound of the waves crashing onto the sides of the ship, the feel of it rocking back and forth, the open sky above you. There's nothing like it." He explained with such passion and vigor.

"I imagine there isn't. Maybe one day I will have a chance to go on one and learn to appreciate it as much as you do."

She instantly regretted the words the moment she had spoken them, but wasn't that what she was supposed to say? She was supposed to flirt with them, give them hope that there actually was something to fight for when there really wasn't.

"I will fight my hardest to make sure you do." He replied confidently as he raised his glass to her.

The conversation flowed easily from there. He asked what she liked to do in her spare time. She replied that she loved reading. She didn't dare mention that she read in the forest with Graham.

He was in the middle of explaining to her how to set a sail when her father interrupted them stating that it was now Prince Cedric's turn to sit with Emma. Prince Gaven took hold of her hand and gave it a kiss before bowing, thanking the king and queen, and returning to his previous seat.

Prince Cedric was seated much closer than Prince Gaven, so when it was announced he would be joining them next it didn't take long for him to be seated by her.

"Good evening Princess Emma." He greeted her.

"Good evening Prince Cedric." She replied.

"Enjoying your meal?" He asked.

"Very much so, thank you." She answered.

Prince Cedric talked about his many hunting expeditions. With the way he boasted about the multiple beasts he has killed she highly doubted he appreciated the kill as much as Graham. He probably didn't even shed a tear.

She had to sit through several uninteresting conversations that night. One prince almost bored her to sleep when he was explaining to her the game of chess. Another made her gag when he went through the proper steps of skinning a deer. She barely understood a word Prince Edmund spoke, his mouth was too full of food, grease running down his face and utensils flailing in the air enthusiastically. She looked to her parents to see if they were watching this gross display, but they were engrossed in their own conversation.

She was thankful when their time together was over, but when she saw who was next she was almost ready to witness Prince Edmund gorge down his dessert. It was Prince Dempsey. He made his way towards her table with his nose in the air, walking with so much arrogance that she could practically smell it on him. Before seating himself, he stood in front of the table and held out his hand. She placed her hand in his and he gave it a kiss. He then bowed to both her parents and took his seat.

"So tell me Princess," He said smugly. "Have you put my gift to good use yet?"

"I'm afraid I haven't had much time to do so." She answered.

"Well I'm sure a vision like yourself will use it plenty."

She internally scoffed at what he thought was a compliment. The nerve of this man, he should know that his flattery was getting him nowhere.

"I was a bit reluctant at first." He said as he picked at the food on his plate with dissatisfied look on his face. "To come here that is, for your hand. A woman of 16 and she hadn't been married off yet, why she must be hideous." He snorted.

Her mouth dropped open in offence. Could he hear what he was saying? He was probably too full of himself to even take in the reactions of others around him.

"But I was pleasantly surprised when I saw you sitting before me. Such a beauty and I must say that dress fits you just right." He said eyeing her up and down and licking his lips.

She could feel him defiling her with his eyes. When Graham looked at her she never felt violated, not like the way Prince Dempsey was looking at her. When Graham looked at her she felt butterflies in her stomach and blood rushing to her cheeks. When Dempsey looked at her she felt like there were bugs crawling under her skin.

"I bet no man in this room can shoot an arrow as well as me." He boasted.

_Maybe not in this room, but I can think of someone_, she had wanted to say, but she held her tongue.

"Is that so?" She questioned in disbelief, to which he gave a confident nod. "Well, I guess we shall see who the better archer is at the end of this tourney."

"We shall." He said as he raised his glass and then downed the drink in one gulp.

She was relieved when her father called for Prince Brindley to sit with her, but the site of him approaching made her tingle with nerves. When he passed Prince Dempsey, Dempsey gave him a mean stare, but it had no affect on the stoic prince.

When Brindley was seated dessert was served; deliciously warm apple pie. Prince Brindley's eyes widened and he licked his lips in anticipation, but he held back and Emma knew it was because of her.

"By all means, dig in. I can see how much you want to." She insisted.

He looked embarrassed that she had noticed his eagerness, but when she gave him another nod he did as she said. She giggled as she watched him gobble it down and when he had finished he smiled and laughed as well.

"I'm sorry, that was very rude of me, but I can't handle myself around a good piece of apple pie." He apologized.

"It's quite alright. Apple pie is one of my favorites as well." She giggled.

"Then it must be fate." He proclaimed. "Two people with a love for apple pie meeting like this. I say there is no need for a tourney now. A bond formed by apple pie is unbreakable."

They were both laughing loudly, so much so the entire room had grown quite and everyone was staring at them. Emma noticed this and immediately stopped, as did Prince Brindley. Emma returned to her pie and ate a bite quietly. Prince Brindley cleared his throat nervously.

"I hope it's not inappropriate of me to ask you this, but do you happen to have a book I could borrow. I wasn't able to pack any of mine and I would really like to have something to read. It calms my nerves."

She almost dropped her fork at his question. Graham was the only other person that she knew that enjoyed reading as much as she did. Well, he enjoyed listening to her read, he could read himself. If she had liked Prince Brindley before now she loved him. No, not love, she couldn't love him, she was in love with Graham.

"I do actually." She said. She looked towards her parents to make sure they weren't looking, then scooted back in her chair to reveal a book lying in her lap. "Don't tell anyone about this. I wasn't supposed to have it." She whispered.

"You weren't reading this while we were talking were you? Did I bore you that much?" He asked disappointed.

"Oh no, of course not!" She assured him. "I always have one with me just in case."

"Thanks." He said taking it from her. He inspected the cover and then opened it, flipping through the pages. "What's it about."

"It's about a man and his search for the fountain of youth." She said excitedly.

"Do you read a lot of books like this?" He asked.

"Oh yes, I love adventure books, anything that will take my mind far away from here."

She feared she had admitted too much, but she felt like she could share anything with Brindley. Before he could respond, Emma's father rose from his chair.

"Thank you all for joining us for this feast. Hopefully all of you will get some rest tonight, for tomorrows event is the joust. Goodnight to you all."

Prince Brindley rose from his chair and Emma joined him. He bowed to her and kissed her hand.

"Once again, thank you for the book."

"You're welcome, and if I don't see you before the joust tomorrow, good luck."

She hadn't said that to any of her suitors and to him she really meant it. She watched him walk away. Before he completely exited the dining hall he turned and gave her a smile. She smiled back, waving a little too enthusiastically.

She sluggishly entered her room. She didn't understand why, but this day had taken a lot out of her. Her handmaidens followed behind her. They got her undressed and then redressed in her nightgown. They helped remove her makeup and they brushed her hair. As they stroked her long locks, she looked at herself in the mirror. She noticed a hint of red in her cheeks. She had felt warm and fuzzy when she was with Brindley, had she been blushing the entire time? She grew redder at the thought so she assumed so.

When her handmaidens had finished they wished her goodnight and said they would be back tomorrow at sunrise. Emma then collapsed onto her bed and had almost drifted asleep when she heard tapping at her window. She slowly made her way to the window and when she opened it Graham threw himself through it, startling her.

"Graham, what are you doing here?" She whispered angrily.

When he got to his feet he turned to face her with a worried expression. "You didn't visit today. When the sun had set and you hadn't shown I got worried, so I decided to come and check to make sure everything was okay." He rambled. "I missed you."

He didn't give her a chance to respond, he didn't even give her a second to breathe before his hand was at the nape of her neck, pulling her to his lips in a desperate kiss.

She had forgotten what it was like to kiss him and when she realized this she didn't understand how she could have. How she had gone this long without kissing him she didn't know.

She felt like she hadn't gotten enough of him when he suddenly pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open and she was met with his smirk.

"I missed doing that as well." He said smugly.

She released a flustered giggle and she could feel herself blushing.

"Why are there so many tents on your grounds? Is there some sort of festival going on that I don't know about?" He joked.

Her stomach dropped at his question. This was the moment she had been dreading. There was no way she could avoid telling him and it would just make things worse if she didn't.

"Graham," She said softly. "Please, sit down." She directed him to sit on her bed and she joined him, taking his hands in hers.

"Emma," He said affectionately. "What is it you're not telling me?"

She stroked the back of his hand soothingly. "The tourney," She muttered.

"What?"

"The tourney," She said louder. "They're here for the tourney."

His face lit up and his eyes gleamed with excitement. "A tourney, well what's the occasion? Is it's someone's birthday tomorrow?" His excitement switched to panic in the blink of an eye. "Is it your birthday tomorrow?" He jumped up from her bed, looking frazzled and frantically ran his fingers through his hair.

"No, Graham," She reached for him and pulled him back down. "It's not my birthday." His body relaxed at her words. "But the tourney is for me."

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you've lost me."

She took in a deep breath, preparing herself. "It's for my hand." She closed her eyes tightly and waited for him to push her away in disgust, for him to begin shouting in anger and frustration, or for him to start throwing things around the room, but none of that happened. She slowly opened her eyes only to find him sitting in the same position, no apparent change in his expression.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked sounding hurt.

"It must have slipped my mind." She admitted.

"Slipped your mind? Emma, how long have you known about this?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat and averted his gaze. "The week before I got your letter."

He dropped her hands and rose from her bed. He started pacing back and forth in front of her. She wanted to reach to him again, but she knew it was no use.

"You've known for a week and you never thought to tell me?" He asked in disbelief.

She looked down at her hands and she fiddled her thumbs. "I know, Graham and I'm sorry, but you have to understand, the moment I got your letter I forgot about everything around me."

He shook his head and chuckled in disagreement. She stood from her bed and placed a hand on his cheek, forcing him to look at her.

"All I could think about was seeing you. Can you blame me for forgetting about this awful thing that I suggested?"

"You suggested this?" He snapped.

She hadn't meant for it to come out that way and the rage in his voice scared her.

"As a joke." She insisted. "My father brought up the issue of suitors again and as a joke I suggested that they fight for my heart. I had no idea my father would actually go through with it."

She searched his face for some sort of sign that he understood, but she found nothing.

"Please, Graham, you have to understand. I never meant for any of this to happen."

He had returned to sitting on her bed, fingers knotted together pressed against his lips, while she stood in front him.

"I understand, Emma."

With his words Emma instantly felt relieved. She knew he would understand that she had no choice in this.

"But how do you think this makes me feel? Knowing they're fighting for your heart while I stand idly by and do nothing."

She crouched in front of him and placed her hands on his knees.

"But, Graham that's the thing, they're fighting for my heart when you already have it." She grabbed his clasped hands and brought them to her lips, giving them a soft kiss.

"What will happen when one of them wins? Will you give your heart to him that easily?"

"You will always have my heart." She promised.

"But I can never have your hand." He countered.

"Even if I'm with him we can still be together." She tried to reason.

He thrust himself to his feet in anger causing her to stumble backwards and almost fall over.

"What, behind his back? That's just as bad as not being able to marry you. I won't do it." He refused.

She rose to her feet and walked over to him, placing her hands on his chest and looking straight into his eyes.

"But I love you." She wept.

"And I love you, but who are we to think that this," He said as he gestured between them. "could work."

"So that's it? You're going to give up just like that?" She wailed, turning away from him.

"How many days until the victor is named?"

She turned back to face him confused as to why he wanted to know.

"There are three events, so three days." She stated.

"Then they will be the best three days of my life." He said. It was as if he was speaking to himself rather than her, like he was trying to convince himself of this.

He motioned to go out the window, but she pulled on his hand stop him.

"Wait, Graham, please don't leave like this. Can't you stay a little longer? I haven't seen you all day and I've missed you." She pleaded.

She felt his hand slowly slip from hers and her chest tightened.

"You know I can't be here Emma, it's too dangerous."

She nodded in understanding as tears fell from her eyes.

"I need time to think about this, to come to terms with it."

He sounded so betrayed, so hurt. She had ruined everything, she knew it. Why did she have to open her stupid mouth?

"I'll wait for you tomorrow. Here, in my room, I'll be waiting. I'll wait for you until the last day." She promised. "I love you." She added.

"I love you too." He wasn't facing her when he said it, but she knew he still meant it.

She watched him the entire time as he climbed down the castle wall and disappeared into the dark of the forest. He never looked back and his steps never wavered. She wanted to be like Graham and believe that these would be the best 3 days of her life as well, but she also knew that they would be the hardest.

* * *

**Graham and Emma, so naive, thinking they will be able to part ways once the tourney is over. Who's ready for the joust? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait on this one guys, between school work and loss of creativity it was hard to finish this, but I got it done :)**

**And for those thinking Graham will magically become a prince and work his way into the tourney, I'm sorry, but Graham is Graham, nothing royal about him. **

**I don't own Once Upon a Time or any of its characters**

* * *

Emma was in a fog when her handmaidens came to wake her the next morning. She had barely gotten any sleep the night before; tossing and turning with thoughts of Graham leaving again, leaving all because of her.

"Come on Princess, time to wake up. We must get you ready for today's events." One of her handmaidens urged.

They forced her out of her bed and into a form fitting cream and periwinkle chiffon dress. Her hair was done up in a bun with diamond flower clips scattered through her locks. She didn't feel like herself in her body. They were tugging and pulling her in different directions, but she didn't really feel any of it. She was in a constant zombie like trance as she made her way to field where the joust was to be held.

The air outside was crisp with anticipation; the sound of horses whinnying and armor clashing made Emma cringe. She didn't want this. She didn't want any of it, but it wasn't her choice. It was what her parents wanted.

She met her parents with a weak smile, both of them beaming back at her.

"Are you ready for today sweetheart?" Her father asked eagerly.

"As ready as I will ever be." She muttered under her breath. She gave her father a firm nod and both of her parents turned away from her to face the field.

"Please rise for King James, Queen Snow, and Princess Emma." The knight announced to the crowd.

As Emma made her way to her throne with her parents, she felt like all eyes were on her. She avoided eye contact with every one of the onlookers and took her seat proudly, sitting with her back straight and chin held high. A harsh wind blew through the air, whipping the flags back and forth viciously. She watched as her father slowing rose from his throne and made his way closer to the edge of the high rise.

"Welcome to the first event in the tourney for my daughters hand. Let the joust begin." He announced.

As he returned to his seat, Emma saw two horses guided onto the field on opposite sides. Banners followed behind them; one yellow and black with a boar and the other purple and gold with a lion. The first match would be Prince Edmund against Prince Baxter of House Everest.

The Everest's lived at the east edge of the kingdom, right along the border line. They were known for their trading with other kingdoms and collections of rare and unique artifacts. There were rumors that they had obtained dragon eggs, but that was merely hearsay.

Prince Baxter's coiffed blonde hair stayed in place as he climbed onto his horse. He sat tall and ready before pulling on his helmet and gripping his lance. On the other end, Prince Edmund struggled with mounting his horse. His foot had gotten tangled and it seemed as if he couldn't pull himself up. His squire came to his aid, pain in his expression as he lifted the prince in the air and shoved him onto his saddle. The horse sagged at the addition of Prince Edmund's weight and all the while Emma was quietly giggling at the situation playing out in front of her.

She knew who would win this match before it even started. Prince Edmund could barely sit still on his horse and the hand that gripped his lance was shaking. Both of the horses shot forward at once at lightning speed. As the space between the two princes grew shorter, Prince Baxter lowered his lance, ready to strike. Prince Edmund bounced as the horse galloped, causing him to have no hold on his lance. He never locked into striking position and was knocked from his horse as Prince Baxter's lance met his shield head on.

Emma cringed at the sound of wood smacking into metal. Prince Edmund was knocked from his horse, his belly jiggled as he smacked hard into the ground. Prince Baxter turned around to see what had happened to his opponent, ripping his helmet off, his hair had lost its coif, and pumped his lance in the air victoriously when he saw the prince on the ground. Prince Edmund rolled back and forth, trying to get to his feet and soon his squire came to his aid, struggling to lift him from the ground.

"The winner of the match, Prince Baxter of House Everest." The knight announced as held the princes' arm in the air. Baxter beamed victoriously at Emma as Prince Edmund sulked back to his tent.

The next match was between Prince Cedric and Prince Gaven. They both sat on their horses and held their lances with the same amount of confidence which made it difficult for Emma to predict who would win. They both lined up at either sides of the tilt and shot off towards each other at top speed. They were locked in position, Cedric slightly ahead of Gaven, the former's lance piercing into Prince Gaven's armor, and it splintered into pieces upon impact. Gaven wavered slightly on his saddle, but was able to stay on.

As Prince Gaven recovered from the blow bestowed upon him by his opponent, Prince Cedric was handed a new lance by his squire.

They positioned themselves by the tilt once again and were off. They grew closer and their lances were locked into position. Emma watched as Prince Gaven's lance found Cedric's helmet. A crunch cut through the air at contact and Emma gasped. There was a sizeable dent in Prince Cedric's helmet and when he lifted it from his head his nose was bleeding, possibly broken. But he didn't seem shaken and put his helmet back on to prepare for the third round.

As they charged at one another for the last time and their lances locked into position, Prince Cedric struck Prince Gaven in the chest, causing him to fall from his horse. Prince Cedric was announced the winner while Prince Gaven stormed off angrily.

The next few matches were much of the same. Oooh's and ahhh's came from the crowd when each strike was made. Some matches went by where no prince was unhorsed, but some were unhorsed by the second strike. The joust had lost Emma's attention by the 4th match. She was more focused on the book she was secretly reading than whose lance struck whom.

Her attention was only redirected when Prince Dempsey's name was announced. He was matched against the scrawny, rail thin Prince Fredrick. Poor Prince Fredrick, he looked no more than the age of 13 with curly red hair and freckles cascading along his face. He stood no chance, Emma knew. He would be destroyed.

As they got to their positions, Prince Fredrick could barely hold his lance upright. Prince Dempsey's horse took off first, startling Prince Fredrick, causing his horse to burst forward under no control by its rider, lance falling from his grasp. He was too concerned with his fallen lance to see Prince Dempsey coming right for him, his lance breaking, splinters lodging themselves in Prince Fredrick's arm. Blood gushed from between his fingers as he clutched the wound in agony. She thought for sure the he would yield, but his squire handed him his fallen lance and he tried putting on a brave face as he put his helmet back on and repositioned himself.

When they were both set to make another pass, Prince Dempsey charged with even more verbosity and determination than the last. He stormed forward like a lion about to pounce on its prey. Emma didn't want to watch, but she couldn't look away, it would be un-lady like of her to do so. Prince's Dempsey's lance hit Prince Fredrick square in the center of his helmet, the metal smashed almost to oblivion. When they had reached the other ends, Prince Fredrick removed his helmet, reveling blood continuously flowing from his mouth and nose.

The poor boy could handle no more of this, Emma thought. She wanted to call it off, declare Prince Dempsey the winner by default, but she knew it wouldn't be over until the final pass was made. It pained her to watch as Prince Dempsey barreled towards him and forcefully launched Prince Fredrick off of his horse. His body lay on the ground, unmoving.

Emma rose from her chair and slowly made her way to the edge of the high rise to get a better view. He just lay there, motionless. She couldn't tell if he was breathing due to his armor, but then she heard him shouting.

"I can't move my legs!" He screamed in panic. "Someone help me! I can't move my legs!"

His squire came to his side and cradled his limp body in his arms. Emma's attention was ripped from the horrid scene in front of her eyes by a roaring laughter. She whipped her head in the direction from which the sound came and found Prince Dempsey standing arrogantly and laughing with his squire. She squinted her eyes at him in disgust, but he only winked at her when he was announced the winner.

Emma's hands balled into fists. It wasn't right, what Prince Dempsey had done, and she wasn't going to stand for it. She quickly turned around to face her parents, a serious expression on her face.

"You can't possibly allow this?" She asked in disbelief. "He just paralyzed a man. Shouldn't he be disqualified?"

"Casualties happen in a joust Emma, it's the way the game works." Her father responded.

She looked to her mother for support, but Snow showed no signs of arguing. Emma huffed in defeat and returned to her seat, crossing her arms over her chest in frustration. She couldn't understand how her father would let a man get away with paralyzing another. She thought he was more just than that. And her mother not agreeing with her, she thought she would be more sympathetic and understanding. The suitor situation seemed to have gotten in the way of their common sense.

During her rant, the two princes of the next match had already gotten suited and mounted, with lances in hand. It was Prince Blake of House Evans, represented by the green and white stag, and Prince Carlisle of House Barnaby, represented by the red and gold stallion.

Emma looked on unamused as the princes traded blows, the last hit landing on Prince Carlisle's shield, and Prince Blake was announced the winner. That meant that one of the last princes to joust would be Prince Brindley, but who would he be up against. For the life of her Emma couldn't remember the other prince.

Her eyes were drawn to Prince Brindley when he emerged onto the field behind the black and white banners, the wolf looking more intimidating in this current situation. He came striding proudly on his grey, speckled stallion. His black hair was smoothed down perfectly and his misty eyes glimmered with excitement. When his eyes found hers his face broke out into a smile that made her breath catch. When his eyes left hers and looked across the field his pupils widened in shock and he gulped nervously. When she followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at she understood why.

His opponent had just stepped onto the field behind the banner of black and gold dragon. It was Prince Reece of House Barrett or as he was commonly known, The Beast. He towered over everyone being nearly 7 feet tall and muscle had built on top of muscle, making him a bulging monster. She looked back at Prince Brindley expecting to see him scrambling with nerves to get his helmet on and hold his lance, but was surprised when he sat poised and confident on his horse.

When both Princes were at the ready on either side of the tilt, Emma pulled her knees to her chest and brought her nails to her mouth, nervously nibbling as each second passed. When their horses bolted forward, Emma's hands and feet snapped back down, her nails digging into the wood of her chair. As they drew closer, without realizing it, Emma drew closer and closer to the edge of her seat. Her eyes never left Prince Brindley. He rode strong and powerful, but it was nothing compared to the power of Prince Reece. It was like he had some sort of force around him that made everything gravitate towards him and Prince Brindley was being pulled in against his will. When they collided it was Prince Brindley's lance meeting with Prince Reece's shield and the latter's lance meeting with the Prince Brindley's chest near his shoulder. Prince Brindley tilted slightly in his saddle, causing to Emma to hover in her seat, but his grip was firm and he didn't fall. Emma released the breath she had been holding and returned to her seat. She looked around to make sure no one had seen her almost freak out and luckily everyone was too consumed with the match to pay any attention to her.

She looked in Prince Brindley's direction again and saw him rolling his shoulder uncomfortably and worry shot through her. Was he hurt and if he was how badly? She hoped his injury wasn't too serious and judging by the fact that he could still comfortably grip his lance it wasn't too grave.

Emma took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, but her heart only beat faster when the princes were at the ready once again. Emma chewed her lip as she watched them charge towards each other again. She couldn't watch this. She refused to see Brindley pummeled by The Beast right before her eyes. She covered her eyes with her hands, but couldn't fight her curiosity and peeked through her fingers. Through her limited vision she was able to see Brindley's lance hitting Reece square in the chest and Reece's lance barely missing Brindley's helmet.

"Yes!"

Emma screamed as she shot up from her throne. She was grinning widely down at Prince Brindley as she clapped excitedly. She was coming down from her adrenaline high when she noticed her parents staring at her. She immediately stopped and cleared her throat as she smoothed out her dress and hair before sitting back down and collecting her composure. A proud smile was still present on her face.

She knew it wasn't over yet. There was still one more pass that he could very well lose. He could still be unhorsed or bludgeoned to death, but she had to have hope. He wouldn't lose, he couldn't lose.

They raced towards each other for the last time. Emma bit down on her lip intently as she watched. They finally traded blows; Reece to Brindley's shield and Brindley to Reece's chest. Emma couldn't believe it, he had won. Prince Brindley had beaten The Beast. Emma's heart swelled with pride as she watched Prince Brindley remove his helmet and climb down from his horse. He was now standing in front of the high rise, arm being held in the air by a knight.

"The winner of the match, Prince Brindley of House Alastair."

When his eyes met hers she instantly felt flustered and heat rose in her cheeks. He gave her a smile and she only grew hotter. She grabbed the fan that lay in her lap and waved it feverishly to calm herself.

Soon the rest of the princes joined Prince Brindley in the center of the field, facing the high rise. Emma's father rose from his throne and made his way to the edge.

"Congratulations. You few men have shown your strength and determination and were victorious in the joust. You will all move on to show your accuracy and patience in the next event, archery."

Prince Dempsey scoffed and rolled his eyes at the announcement of the next event, Emma noticed in disgust.

"You are also invited to the castle once again tonight."

She would have to sit through another dinner with the princes? Would this be happening after every event of the day? Well, at least some of the less entertaining ones had been eliminated today, she marginalized.

She followed her parents down the steps of the high rise and once she was on the ground she risked a glance back at the field to see if Prince Brindley was still standing there. He was and he was looking right at her. She quickly turned away from him, suddenly feeling shy, but looked right back and he was still staring. She gave him a smile, but he was ushered away by his squire before he was able to see it.

With the absence of Prince Brindley she had a perfect view of the forest where she thought she saw a figure standing in the shadows, but the second she blinked it was gone. There was no way Graham had watched the match. For one thing it would have been too risky for him to be so out in the open, but then there was the fact that this was a tourney for her hand. There was no way he would want to watch that. Unfortunately, her denial didn't keep the inkling feeling away.

* * *

Emma's mind was somewhere else while her handmaidens were dressing her. Had Graham really been there, in the forest? Emma was touched by the fact that he hadn't really left, but that didn't mean that he had forgiven her or that he would still come visit her tonight. She hoped he would.

She was shaken from her thoughts with a tug from her handmaiden as she tightened the corset. She looked down in bewilderment at the dress they had put her in. The voluminous yellow gown was much fancier than what she had expected. The gold embroidery along the bodice matched the embroidery on the sleeves and hem.

"Why are you putting me in this grand dress? We're just having supper, just like the other night. I demand something simpler."

"M'lady," One of her handmaidens stood from the ground where she had been fixing Emma's hem. She was averting Emma's gaze obviously afraid of directly addressing her. "I take it your parents have not informed you of the importance of tonight?"

Of course her parents had forgotten to inform her about what was going on tonight. Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance. "No, they have not informed me, so if you don't mind explaining I would like to know." Emma snapped.

The handmaiden flinched at her insistence and averted her gaze again. "A ball is being held here as a celebration of the beginning of the tourney." She stuttered.

Emma felt a mixture of both nervousness and fury. Why had her parents never mentioned this to her? She'd only been to a few balls in her lifetime and most of the time she was able to sneak away and read rather than go through having to dance with someone. She wasn't an awful dancer, she was actually quite agile on her feet, she just didn't enjoy the intimacy of it. She'd have to participate in this one though, there was no escaping it.

They left her hair down in loose curls and placed a golden tiara on her head. She rarely wore it, only on occasions like this, but when she did it changed her; made her feel more confident in herself. The crown was a weave of golden vines with flowers made of a combination of diamonds and pearls strategically placed through it. It weighed just enough so that you knew it was there, but it wasn't overbearing.

Her makeup was a little more extravagant this time around, adding a romantic red lip. When they were finished she turned to look at her reflection in the mirror and it was almost as if the corset had been tugged tighter because she lost her breath. The girl in mirror staring back at her was a girl she didn't know. This girl was more beautiful than Emma. The dress molded to her body perfectly. The color brought out the light in her eyes and her face was striking and captivating. This is what a Princess looked like and it was Emma.

She had never felt like she fit the mold of what a princess really was. She liked to keep to herself rather than interact with others. She would rather spend her days wandering through the forest than learning proper etiquette. But seeing this version of herself reflected back at her made her think twice about her actions. This poised princess in the mirror was who she was fated to be. It was who she was raised to be and expected to become. She needed to stop running from her destiny and accept it. The sooner she did the easier this all would be.

She couldn't help thinking about Graham as she stared at her reflection. What would he think of her if he saw her like this? He knew she was a princess, but he had never seen her like this. She knew it wouldn't really change what he thought about her, what he truly felt about her, but it may solidify the fact that she was nothing like him. She was a princess and he was nothing more than….what? A wolf boy? A huntsman, she supposed. Her looking like this would show him that they could never be together.

"Princess, don't cry. You're ruining your makeup."

She broke eye contact with her reflection and saw several tears fall down her cheeks, washing her makeup away. She sniffled and took in a few ragged breaths as her handmaiden blotted her tears away with a cloth. She retouched Emma's makeup and stepped aside to reveal her once more.

"No more crying. If I have to retouch it again you'll be late. A Princess is never late."

Emma nodded. She couldn't think about how she couldn't be with Graham. It hurt too much. She had to focus on the sliver of hope she had that he would come back tonight. She would only allow herself to think about being with him and how happy it made her feel. It was the only way she would get through this.

* * *

She knew they were waiting for her. She could hear the faint sound of voices down stairs and the roaring laugh that could have only belonged to her father. She lightly bounced up and down in anticipation, waiting to be announced. She thought she would be more nervous than this. Usually her palms would be sweating and her knees would be wobbling, but she was completely still. She was ready for this.

"Presenting, Princess Emma."

She took a deep breath after the knight announced her name and began to descend the stairs. She stood as straight as possible and held her chin high as she took each step one at a time. Soon, the entire room came into view with all eyes on her. She hadn't expected for there to be so many people, perhaps more people had received invitations. The seven Princes that won their matches today stood in the front of the crowd, all dressed in their best clothes. Her father and mother stood just to the left of the bottom of the stairs, beaming brightly at her.

Her father stepped towards her when she reached the bottom of the stairs and held out his hand for her to take. She took it, smiling at him first and then to the crowed when her father turned to present her. She met eyes with each prince, skipping over Prince Dempsey, and when she landed on Prince Brindley she gave him a wider smile and she could feel the blush on her cheeks. She took a deep breath and let it all soak in.

"Once again I would like to welcome you all to this wonderful occasion." Her father started. "Each prince will have a chance to dance with my daughter, the rest of you are welcome to join in as well as indulge in the delicious food and wine that has been provided." He said gesturing to the table on the other side of the room. "Let the party begin."

The orchestra began to play and the room was filled with the soft notes of violins and the chattering of people. Emma had expected her father to release her hand in favor of her mother's instead, but he guided her to the dance floor, twirling her and then placing a hand at her waist, beginning to glide around the room.

Emma looked around as several more guests began dancing around them. She returned to look at her father, who was staring down at her, his eyes gleaming with what looked like tears.

"Emma, my darling daughter, Emma,"

Oh boy. She knew that tone. It was the "you're growing into such a beautiful woman" speech. It was something she heard from him on each and every birthday she had since she was 12 and it never failed to embarrass her.

"Father," She whined through gritted teeth.

She looked around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. Luckily, they were too engrossed with concentrating on dancing to be paying any attention to her and her uncomfortable situation.

"I know I say this a lot, but Emma, you've grown into such a beautiful woman." He said trying to keep is voice straight. "I know this isn't exactly what you wanted, but I want you to understand that I'm doing what's best for you. Having someone to love and support you in life is something that is special and rare and that's what I wish for you."

His expression was that of pure sincerity and she knew she couldn't be mad at him for this. If it wasn't for Graham she probably would find love through this tourney and she would be thankful for her father setting it up, but Graham was always at the back of her mind through this whole thing, preventing her from fully appreciating her father's efforts. She had found what her father had wanted her to have, but he would never know.

A lump had formed in her throat that she couldn't swallow to form words for a response so she just leaned her head forward to rest it on her father's chest. She felt him press an affectionate kiss to the top of her head. She only lifted her head when she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," She looked to her right and there was Prince Cedric looking as if he had been dipped in gold. His doublet was completely gold with green emerald embellishments, his sleeves as well as he pants were white and golden boots covered his feet. "But I was wondering if I could have this dance with Princess Emma?"

Her father almost looked reluctant to hand her over, handing over his baby girl, his only child due to fears of the Evil Queen, but he nodded and stepped away, taking Emma's hand and placing it in Cedric's, giving him a smile. The prince bowed before her, his nose nearly touching his knee, and she curtsied. When he stood back up he brought their hands up, fingers entwining, and placed his other hand on her waist, guiding her across the floor.

When she looked up at his face she saw his purple and green bruised nose, courtesy of Prince Gaven in their match earlier today. It looked swollen and painful. She couldn't stop staring.

"He got me good did he not?" He tilted his head, giving her a smirk.

Her eyes quickly darted from his nose and rose to his eyes trying to make it seem like she hadn't been staring, but it was too late. She had already been caught.

"I'm sorry, it just looks so painful. Is it broken?"

"Thankfully, no, but that doesn't mean it hurts any less." He chuckled.

She tried laughing along, but it felt and sounded forced.

"I wear it proudly as a badge of honor."

"As you should." She agreed giving him a weak smile.

They continued to waltz around the room. She congratulated him on his victory and he thanked her, saying it was an honor to joust for her. She felt horrible for not reacting the way most woman would if a man of his stature had said that to them. Her heart didn't swoon and she didn't blush. The statement meant nothing to her. She was lying to him with each compliment and smile that she gave.

Her regretful thoughts were soon interrupted by someone dressed in royal purple stepping into her peripheral vision.

"I believe you have coveted her long enough, Cedric."

Prince Baxter stood beside Prince Cedric, dressed in a deep violet with white trousers and black boots. The gold sash across his shirt was pinned at his waist by a giant green emerald broach. His blonde hair was possibly more coiffed than it had been this morning.

"I suppose I have." He agreed.

He stepped back and brought her hand to his lips, giving her fingers a kiss before nodding and leaving. This gave Prince Baxter the chance to swoop in and take his position. They quickly picked up the dance once again and began moving to the music. They were stuck in an awkward silence as they went through the steps.

"I feel as if I have cheated in a way." He said breaking the silence.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I quite understand." Emma said shaking her head.

"Matching me with Prince Edmund." He clarified. "He could barely stay mounted on his horse in the first place. Knocking him off didn't take much. I feel like I wasn't able to show my true potential." His head hung low in defeat.

"I wouldn't say you cheated. I would put it more as you got lucky."

His head lifted back up, obviously comforted by her redefinition.

"Besides, you'll have a chance to prove yourself tomorrow." She added.

"You're right. I can't dwell on today. I have to look forward to tomorrow."

His movements became lighter and happier. Emma was glad she could lift his spirits. Soon they were separated when yet another prince came for a chance to dance. She couldn't remember his name, but he was dressed in an atrocious orange and green ensemble that clashed with his mopy brown hair and pale blue eyes. He was also a horrendous dancer, stepping on her toes and almost dropping her every time he tried to lift her. The next prince was no better. He was far too short to be a desired dance partner, about eye level with her breasts which just made things even more uncomfortable. She was practically leading him the entire time. She looked around the room and people were snickering and pointing in her direction, obviously finding the situation quite comical.

"To save the Princess from anymore embarrassment, may I cut in?"

She knew who that snake like voice belonged to. Prince Dempsey stood towering above the dwarfish prince that was dancing with Emma. He was dressed in a sky blue doublet and white trousers with white boots. His ice blonde hair was slicked back making his pointed nose look even sharper.

She wanted to tell him no. She wouldn't mind dancing with the imp prince if it meant she wouldn't have to dance with him, but she couldn't refuse him. She had to at least dance with him for a few counts, that wouldn't be too bad would it?

The short prince stepped aside, allowing Dempsey to slink in. His left hand instantly found her waist, right gripping her other hand tight, and he forcefully pulled her towards him so that she flush against him. His eyes darted to the top of her breasts that were peeking out of the top of her dress and licked his lips.

"If we weren't in such a public place I would say you were trying to tease me with those." He whispered huskily in her ear. His tongue barely darted out to lick her earlobe making Emma cringe. His hand that had been placed on her waist had slowly made its way lower and gave her bottom a hard grope.

She wanted to get away, she needed to get away. Her throat tightened with fear and tears sprung to her eyes. The corset was completely constricting her from breathing and her heartbeat had tripled in rhythm. She tired pulling away in a panic, but his hold on her only grew tighter.

"Oh no, Princess," He sneered. "I fought for you today. I earned this dance with you and I'm going to make it as pleasurable for myself as possible."

He leaned into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"You smell absolutely delectable."

She couldn't take it anymore. Her chest had tightened too much; she was going to pass out. Using all of her might, she was finally able to escape from his grasp and ran straight for the balcony, out of sight from the rest of the guests. She slammed into the cool marble railing, gripping it tightly for support. She inhaled the fresh air of the cold night, eyes closed and head lifted to the sky.

She took several more deep breaths to calm herself down and her eyes slowly opened to the stars shining brightly in the night sky. She rubbed her arms up and down, not really sure if the action was because she was cold or she was trying to scrub herself free of the dirty feeling Prince Dempsey had left on her.

Had anyone seen what he had done to her or more rather, what he had tried to do to her? Did they see her storm out? Everyone at the party seemed completely consumed with themselves that they probably hadn't even noticed. She could still feel his hands on her. She could still feel his hot breath on her neck, his tongue in her ear. She shivered at the unsettling sensation.

She hated him, she truly did. But what would happen if he won the tourney and her hand? His actions tonight were only a preview of what her life would be like with him and if he won she couldn't run from them. She'd have to follow through as she was expected to, but the pain would still be there. She refused to think about it. It was just making things worse and she wouldn't allow it.

"Is everything alright Princess?"

She jumped in fright when his voice broke the calm silence that had surrounded her. She slowly turned to find Prince Brindley standing in the archway. He was dressed in white again with black pants. His soot black hair was coiffed, not as extremely as Prince Baxter's, which Emma found more appealing. A black sash was draped across his doublet, pinned at the waist by a giant diamond broach. He looked quite dashing with light from the moon hitting him the way it did.

"I'm quite alright, just needed to get some fresh air."

He gave her a look as if he didn't believe a word she had said. He stepped on to the balcony and made his way towards her until they were face to face, only inches separating them. She could feel him reading her.

"Are you sure?" He asked in disbelief. "I had seen you dancing with Prince Dempsey and only turned my head for a second and when I looked back you were gone. I barely saw you slip through the doorway to the balcony."

Should she tell him what Prince Dempsey had done? Is she did, how would he react? Certainly not positively, she knew, and she didn't want him to confront Dempsey and make a scene.

"I'm fine. The room just became too much for me." She assured him.

His hand ghosted over her arm until he reached her hand, her entire body began to tingle. He clasped her hand lightly and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"In that case, may I have this dance my lady?"

He gave her a hopeful smile that made Emma forget her entire altercation with Prince Dempsey.

"Yes, you may."

She released a flustered giggle as he bowed to her and she gave him a quick curtsey. When they stood to face each other again, he took her hand and entwined their fingers while he placed his other hand on her waist. He took a step forward and as custom she stepped back, setting the tempo for their dance. The music didn't reach the balcony so they were dancing to their own music. Their eyes were focused on each other, never blinking, even as he spun her in a circle. He only brought her back to him for a second before he dipped her, holding her above the ground. The electricity between them was buzzing in the air and it drew them closer. When he brought her back up their noses were right against each other and they were breathing shallow breaths. Emma zeroed in on his lips as he licked them nervously. She was overcome with the desire to find out how they felt on her own.

Their moment was broken when a gasp came from the doorway. Emma's head snapped in that direction and there was Arianna looking as if she had stumbled upon something private.

"Oh my," She said sounding flustered. She turned as if she was going to go back, but stopped. "I just came to find you. I had no idea you were with someone." She said eying Brindley up and down. "Sorry to interrupt. I will leave you now."

Emma stuttered, trying to catch Arianna before she left to tell her she hadn't interrupted anything, but it was too late. The moment between her and Brindley had been broken. Whatever was going to happen between them would not be rekindled. What would have happened if Arianna hadn't interrupted them? Emma forced the thought from her mind.

"We should go back in now. People will start to notice your absence if they haven't already." Brindley said breaking the silence.

He held out his arm for her to take. She placed her hand over his and they strode back inside as if nothing had happened on the balcony. As they made their way through the room all eyes were on them. People around them whispered to one another as they passed. When Prince Dempsey came into view Emma tensed and Prince Brindley seemed to since it. He guided them away from him and towards the food table.

Emma hadn't realized how hungry she was until the fruit tarts came into view. Her mouth salivated at the sight. She stuffed three into her mouth at once. Her eyes closed and she moaned with satisfaction with each swallow. When she opened her eyes she found Prince Brindley smiling at her and instantly felt embarrassed by her glutinous display.

"I take it you were hungry?" Prince Brindley joked.

"Quite." Her voice was muffled by the fruit tart that was still in her mouth.

She spent the rest of the party at the food table eating everything in sight and avoided dancing with Prince Blake when he came for her, stating she was just too tired, and more importantly she avoided Prince Dempsey at all costs. At one point she had wanted to find Arianna so she could explain what she had thought she had seen on the balcony, but she was nowhere to be found.

Prince Brindley stayed by her side the entire time, laughing and enjoying meaningless conversations about who knows what. Emma was slowly discovering how much she enjoyed Prince Brindley's company. Their fun only ceased when Emma's father announced that the ball had come to an end.

"I would like to thank you all for joining us tonight. I hope you enjoyed yourselves." Her father said as he, Snow, and Emma stood at the bottom of the steps in front of their guests. They responded with hoots and hollers of agreement. "Tomorrow is the archery part of the tourney and by the end of the event we will have two Princes that will move onto the final event the next day. I hope you all get a nice night of rest. Goodnight to you all."

He then took Snow's hand and they headed up the stairs. Emma quickly followed behind them only sparing a glance back at the crowd, instantly finding Brindley and giving him a smile. She saw him smile back and quickly turned back, hiding her blush.

She felt like she was on a cloud as she made her way to her room. She twirled in circles over and over with her eyes closed, imagining that she was dancing with Prince Brindley again. She only stopped when she entered her room and found Graham sitting on her bed. She quickly shut the door behind her and turned towards him. Her wide eyes met his, his expression of pure wonderment as he took her all in.

"Emma," He slowly rose from her bed and made his way towards her, completely hypnotized by her. He stopped a few feet in front of her, still trying to take in how much of a princess she looked like. "You look beautiful."

She couldn't even take time to appreciate his compliment. She was still stuck on the fact that he came back. He was here.

"I can't believe you came."

"Did you ever doubt I would?" He chuckled. He gave her his signature smile and her shock melted away. Pure happiness replaced it. She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him close. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around the room, burying his face in her hair.

When he lowered her to the floor he rested his forehead on hers. He looked down at her dress again.

"Where are you coming from dressed like that?" He asked.

"We held a ball here tonight to celebrate the tourney."

"So I take it there was some dancing?"

Emma nodded her head and waited for his reaction. Would be grow angry with jealousy knowing that she had danced with all of those princes? What she hadn't expected was him bowing to her and bringing her hand to his lips.

"May I have this dance my lady?"

"Why of course you may." She said while giving him a slight curtsey.

They didn't move much due to the limited space. He held her close to his body, much like Prince Dempsey had, but she didn't feel trapped against her will. With Graham she felt safe, as if there was no one else in the world that mattered but him.

"You're actually pretty good at this." Emma observed as Graham gracefully executed some of the steps.

Before he could respond there was a knock at the door and they froze in panic.

"That would have to be my handmaidens come to undress me. You have to hide." She told him

He scrambled towards her closet, but she grabbed his arm, stopping him mid step. She shook her head and pointed him in the direction of her bed. He would have to hide under it.

"Princess, is everything alright?" One of the handmaidens asked through the door.

"Everything's fine!" She yelled as she shoved Graham under her bed. "Just give me a second!"

Once Graham was covered and out of sight, Emma opened the door and let her handmaidens in. The first thing they removed was the crown. When it was removed it was like the spell that had been cast on her had ceased and she was back to being her normal self. They quickly started undressing her, untying the corset, finally allowing Emma to really breathe. She was stripped down to her extremely thin slip. She was only in the slip for a few seconds before they put on her nightgown. They washed her face until it was free of makeup and brushed her hair until it lay straight with minimal curls.

"Is there anything else we can do for you m'lady."

"No, that will be all thank you."

The handmaiden nodded, collected the water bowl and cloths, and left the room. Emma waited until she was sure no one would be coming back before speaking again.

"You can come out now." Emma told Graham.

He rolled out from under the bed and stood in front of her. She thought that he would look at her differently now that she wasn't in her true princess wear, but his eyes were no different. He still looked at her with the same wonderment.

"So," He started. "You seemed pretty entertained by the joust today."

So it had been Graham she had seen at the edge of the forest. Emma felt a jumble of different emotions; scared, elated, confused.

"How did you know today was the joust?" She asked as if she hadn't already seen him.

"I hadn't wanted to see any of it. I hadn't wanted to know what they were doing, but in the end my curiosity got the best of me. I watched the last match from the edge of the forest."

That meant he had seen Prince Brindley's match, the only one she had shown any excitement towards, but he didn't know that.

"I guess jousting just really brings out that side in me." She joked.

"Who would have thought?"

They stood there for several minutes, her head resting on his chest, basking in the silence.

"You'd have done better than all of them." Emma said.

His chest moved up and down with laughter. She lifted her head and looked up at him, her brow furrowed.

"Please, I don't even know how to control a horse much less get on one." He admitted.

"Oh it's not that hard." She assured him. "You just grab the horse by the reigns," She demonstrated by grabbing the collar of his chemise. "And guide it by moving the reigns in the direction that you want to go." She said with a playful smirk as she executed the steps by pushing him towards the bed until he fell on top of it and pulled her with him.

"That seems pretty simple, but what happens when you have a horse that is being difficult."

He surprised her by gripping her sides and flipping them so that he was hovering above her, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Then you need to regain control, force the horse to obey you."

She rolled them over so that she was on top of him again, straddling his waist. The playful tension between them was too much for Graham to handle. He brought his hand behind Emma's neck and pulled her too him, his mouth meeting hers in urgency. Emma moaned as his tongue entered her mouth, brushing against hers. She didn't fight him when he switched their positions again so that he was on top. His mouth left hers, both catching their breath, and skirted his lips across her jaw.

"I couldn't stay away." His lips moved against her earlobe, his voice filled with lust. "I can't force myself to stay away from you Emma. I love you."

Tears fell from her eyes at his confession of love and she released a loud wanton moan when he attached his mouth to her neck, sucking hard. When he was finished, he ran his tongue over the spot soothingly. He kissed his way back up her neck until he reached her lips, giving them a few loving pecks.

"I love you too." She said breathlessly as she stared into his deep blue eyes.

He plopped down beside her and she turned on her side, propping up an elbow and resting her head on her fist. The light from the candle flame illuminated his silhouette. He looked more rugged than the princes she had danced with tonight. He looked like he had really lived life, struggled through it by overcoming obstacles. He didn't just sit on a throne and bark orders at others to do his bidding. He did it himself and that's why she loved him.

"So what's tomorrow's event?"

He sounded like he didn't even want to know and of course Emma knew why.

"It's archery actually."

"Something I can actually do." He pulled at the strings of his chemise, disappointment clearly written on his face.

She scooted closer to him, nestling under his chin and placed her hand on his chest, soothingly rubbing it back and forth.

"You would do better than all of them."

"But I'm not a prince, so it doesn't matter."

She wanted to see Prince Dempsey's face when Graham hit the bulls-eye on his first shot and every shot after that, but it would be something that she could only imagine in her mind.

"Good," She said as she pushed herself up on his chest. "I don't want you to be a prince. I love you just the way you are."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I don't want to marry a prince. I want to marry you."

"Emma,"

"No, don't say anything." She placed her finger on his lips to stop him from what she expected to be a long speech of why he couldn't be with her, why he didn't deserve her. It was her that didn't deserve him, she wanted to say.

"Just stay with me." She whispered into his chest.

She felt him stroking her hair over and over again, soothing her with the repetition until she drifted to sleep. The next morning when she woke she'd question if she dreamt him kissing her head and whispering goodnight with a promise of seeing her tomorrow or if it was real.

* * *

**I hope it won't take as long to update next time, but I'm not promising anything. Who do you think will be the two princes that will move on to the final event?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Little tidbit: I've been listening to You Know Where to Find Me by Imogen Heap A LOT while writing this fic. I feel like it really speaks to the story. Give it a listen if you haven't already. **

**I do not own Once Upon a Time.**

* * *

For the first time in days, Emma woke feeling refreshed and ready for the day's events. Her eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the bright light coming through the room. Her mouth opened wide in a yawn as she thrust her arms outward, stretching every muscle in her body. Her arms quickly snapped back and she pulled them tight to her chest as she snuggled back into her bed.

She felt content. She wouldn't say she had resolved things with Graham last night, but it was a step towards it. If living in a state of denial felt like this then she never wanted to leave.

She jumped from her bed, suddenly filled with a burst of energy, and strode over to the window. She opened it, allowing the warmth of the sun and the chirping of the birds to fill the room. She inhaled the fresh, outside air and sighed happily. She placed her hands on the windowsill to support herself as she leaned over the edge. When she leaned far enough, she could see the targets being set up for the archery event today.

A rapping came from the door which meant it was time for Emma to get dressed for the day.

"Come in!" She responded.

A number of handmaidens came filing into her room, but someone unexpected came with them. It was Arianna. When their eyes met she gave Emma her ever knowing look and Emma knew what it was about; the incident with Prince Brindley on the balcony. Emma's content feeling instantly disappeared.

"A-Arianna," She stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

She plopped down on Emma's bed and smoothed out her skirt.

"Well," She started. "I stumbled upon something last night between you and a certain someone and I just couldn't wait to talk to you about it."

Emma could only roll her eyes at Arianna's insinuation as her handmaidens plucked and primed her.

"There's nothing to talk about. You didn't stumble upon anything." Emma said defensively.

Her handmaiden had just started removing Emma's nightgown when she gasped.

"My lady, what happened to you?"

Emma followed her gaze and found what she was looking at. There was a rather large, round, purple bruise at the base of her neck. It was at the spot where Graham had…

_Oh my_, she thought to herself. She felt the spot and it was still hot, like burning passion encapsulated under her skin. She grew hotter just thinking about it. She got lost in the moment, remembering how incredible it felt; his lips lightly ghosting over her skin, his tongue lapping at her neck.

She had to pull herself back to reality. She couldn't let it look like it was something enjoyable because then Arianna would certainly think it had something to do with Prince Brindley.

"It must have happened in my sleep last night." She lied. "You know how clumsy I am."

When she saw Arianna's reflection in the mirror, she could tell by her expression that she didn't believe her in the slightest, but that she wasn't going to press any further on the matter, at least for right now.

"We'll just have to make sure that's covered up then." Her handmaiden replied with an unsuspecting smile.

They dressed her in a dark green emerald dress, with wide hanging sleeves and a high collar to hide the evidence that Graham had left. Her hair was braided and rolled into a bun at the back of her head. All throughout, Arianna was drilling Emma for information on the princes that were competing for her hand.

"Prince Cedric is handsome. I quite like the rugged type." Arianna said.

If that's what Arianna considered rugged then she couldn't be more far off, in Emma's mind.

"I'll admit, he is handsome, but all he likes to talk about is hunting and different types of game. Such a bore." Emma groaned.

"Well not everyone likes to have their head buried in the middle of a book all the time like you, Emma."

"Prince Brindley likes to read."

She hadn't meant for that to slip out, she just couldn't stop her mouth from moving.

"So that's why you're so infatuated with him."

"I am not!" Emma argued back.

She may have denied it, but Emma couldn't stop from blushing with embarrassment.

"But you are." Arianna rose from Emma's bed and came up behind her, keeping eye contact with Emma's reflection the entire time. "I can see it. Look how you're blushing. And last night, when I interrupted you two on the balcony, the feeling in the air between you two, you had a connection."

For the life of her Emma couldn't argue back. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't say a word to deny it. Was she really starting to have feelings for Prince Brindley?

"Emma," Arianna stepped in front of her and placed her hands on Emma's shoulders so they were looking straight into each other's eyes. "I know how much you wanted to be with Graham. When he came back that night and told you he had fallen in love with someone else I could tell he had broken your heart."

Emma flinched at the mention of her lie to Arianna. In that moment she wished she hadn't lied to her. She wished she could say something now. Tell her she was still in love with Graham, still with him, but she couldn't pluck up the courage to do so.

"But you can't let that hold you back from loving someone else, someone who really cares for you and would never leave you for someone else. I've seen the way you and Prince Brindley look at each other and it looks like love."

Emma was at a loss for words. What Arianna had said sounded so believable, so believable that she could see it right before her eyes; her life with Prince Brindley. Their wedding day would be the most extravagant event she had ever been to. Her parents would be smiling and crying, their proud expressions proving to her that she had made the right decision. Living in another castle with just her and Brindley, raising their children there. She could see it all, but there was something missing. She also saw visions of Graham, alone and sulking at some pub, falling into bed with other women, but never looking happy about it, depressed for the rest of his days.

"But who's to say he will even win the tourney."

Emma's visions disappeared like a wave of smoke at Arianna's words.

"That Prince Dempsey looks like the kind of man that won't give up without a fight."

Emma's skin crawled at the mention of his name. She didn't even want to think about him winning. Her handmaidens did the final touches on her makeup and Arianna held out her arm for Emma to take.

"Now, let's go watch your suitors shoot arrows to win your heart. My goodness Emma, you are so lucky."

Emma understood why Arianna thought she was lucky. Arianna didn't have any princes to fight over her. Her parents had already made a deal with King Braxton, who controlled the western boarders of the kingdom, for Arianna to marry his son, Prince Col. Luckily for her, she truly loved Col and they were set to marry in the coming year. If this is what being lucky was like then Emma didn't want to be lucky at all.

* * *

Emma's parents were already seated by the time her and Arianna arrived. Arianna's parents were seated next to Emma's, engrossed in serious conversation with one another. They greeted each other with hugs and kisses before returning to their seats, waiting for the event to begin.

The rules were simple: each prince had three chances to shoot, each shot being a further distance from the target than the last. The closer you got to the bullseye the more points you earned, the goal being to hit the center of the bullseye. The two princes with the highest scores would be announced as the winners and move on to the final event.

Each of the 7 princes was lined up at their designated target awaiting their turn. Emma searched the line up for Brindley and found him at the far right end. That meant he would be first. Going first was like a double edged sword; it's always nerve racking to be the first for anything, but going first meant you set the bar for all of the others, and hopefully you set it pretty high.

Wind gust was minimal, which was ideal. Though, Emma was getting overheated due to her high collar. She cursed Graham in her mind, but she didn't really mean it.

A few minutes passed and then Prince Brindley strung his bow and pulled and arrow from the quiver strung over his back. He pulled the arrow back, holding it in position as he adjusted his aim. He released the arrow swiftly through his fingers, sending it flying through the air. When it hit the target it lodged itself mere inches from the bullseye. It was a good shot. It put him in a good starting position.

He shook his arms and rolled his shoulders as he took three steps back, trying to relax his muscles so he could get a better shot at this next turn. He pulled out another arrow. Before letting go, he took a deep breath and adjusted once again. When he exhaled, he let the arrow go and it hit the target a few inches closer to the center of the bullseye than the last. This put him in an even better position, possibly a winning position.

He was so close to hitting the bullseye, he had to hit it on his final shot. Sadly, his last shot was no closer to the bullseye than the one before. It was only a few inches below it. Emma wasn't worried though. He had a nice lead and an almost untouchable position.

The crowd clapped at the end of his turn and Emma joined in, clapping a smidge louder than everyone else.

Prince Baxter was next. He shot well, but his arrows never came close to the bullseye. He was far better than some of the others. Their arrows either never even reached the target or sailed right past it. With each arrow that was released, Emma couldn't help but think about how Graham would have done so much better. Graham would have hit the center of the bullseyes each and every time.

When it was Prince Cedric's turn, Emma was slightly nervous. He loved to hunt and judging by how much he went hunting Emma assumed he must be a good shot. He held the bow and arrow like an experienced archer and when he let go, the arrow cut through air and hit the target in the same place that Prince Brindley's first arrow had hit.

Emma tried not to panic. It was just a lucky shot, a pure coincidence that he had hit the same spot as Prince Brindley. Unfortunately, his second shot was similar to Prince Brindley's second shot as well. Emma still refused to believe that he would beat Brindley. She silently chanted a prayer in Brindley's favor and as if the Gods above were listening, just as Prince Cedric had released his last arrow, a gust of wind blew through the air changing the trajectory of his arrow, causing it to land on the outer edge of the target.

Emma clapped along with the rest of the crowd at the end of his turn, but it was more for his failure than for his effort.

The last to shoot was Prince Dempsey. It was time to see if he was as good of an archer as he boasted to be. You could still see the cockiness and arrogance in the way he stood, bow and arrow in hand. The arrow he released sliced through the air and hit the target right in the center of the bullseye.

Emma felt like a fool. She had convinced herself that Prince Dempsey had exaggerated his archery skills, that it had all been words to impress her, but they hadn't been just words. He had been telling the truth. It was like Emma had just been slapped across the face.

Instead of just taking a couple of steps back like all the rest of the princes, Prince Dempsey turned around and walked to the next position, staring directly at Emma with an arrogant smirk on his face. She knew he expected to see an impressed expression from her, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. She sat straighter with her chin held high and averted his gaze.

Inside Emma was panicking. She was terrified by the fact that he was going to win. He was going to get the highest score and move on to the final round. But then she remembered that Prince Brindley was moving on as well and it calmed her. There was hope.

As she predicted, Prince Dempsey hit the bullseye right in the center on his next two shots, meaning he got the highest score and would be moving on, along with Prince Brindley, to the final round. Both of the princes stood in front of the high-rise, King James stood at the edge, ready to address them.

"Congratulations to the both of you. You both have proven your skills and will be moving on to tomorrow's final event; a good old fashioned duel."

Emma rose from her chair expecting he father to be done speaking, but he wasn't.

"Prince Dempsey," Her father focused on the arrogant lord. "Since you earned the highest score in the archery competition, you have the opportunity to choose whether you would like to have dinner with my family tonight or have breakfast with us tomorrow morning. Whichever you choose, Prince Brindley will get the other."

Emma froze where she stood. She hadn't been expecting that. Why was her father putting her in these situations that she knew nothing about?

"It would be an honor to have dinner with you and your family tonight, your Majesty." Prince Dempsey decided.

"Then we will see you tonight." James nodded in confirmation. "Prince Brindley," He said turning to the other. "That means you will be joining us for breakfast tomorrow morning. Sleep well tonight."

As everyone was leaving, Emma stood frozen in time. It was like her mind had consumed so much information that it had just gone blank. Not only was Prince Dempsey moving on to the final event, but she was being forced to have dinner with him tonight.

"Emma." Arianna waved her hands in front of Emma's face, attempting to lift her from her haze.

Emma blinked rapidly, regaining control of her body, and gave Arianna a forced smile.

"Sorry, I was just lost in thought." She fibbed.

"Thinking about your dinner with Prince Dempsey tonight? That's something women only dream about."

Dinner with Prince Dempsey was not something Emma would consider a dream, rather, she thought of it as a nightmare.

* * *

Emma stared at her reflection in the mirror, filled with rage. Why had she let Arianna pick her dress for tonight? She should have known that Arianna would pick the most inappropriate one. Arianna had convinced her to wear a dangerously low cut, ruby red and gold satin gown. Emma had wanted to cover her body completely, to the point where there was no skin was showing. She didn't need to encourage Prince Dempsey's actions from last night, but there was no fighting Arianna. She had practically put it on Emma herself. She wanted to feign sick, anything to get her out of this dinner, but it was too late.

"They're ready for you Princess."

Emma was startled by her handmaiden popping out from behind the door. She took a deep breath, willing herself to go through with this. It was just dinner, unless he won. No, she refused to think about that.

Her feet felt like they were being held down with bags of sand as she made her way to the dining room. There, she found her father sitting at the head to the table with her mother at his left and Prince Dempsey at his right.

"There's my daughter." Her father said as she entered the room.

They all rose from their chairs as she made her way to the table. When she had reached her seat, Prince Dempsey took her hand and brought it to his lips. Emma fought every nerve in her body that wanted to snatch her hand back the instant it touched his scaly lips.

"Good evening Princess. You look absolutely beautiful tonight."

The words sounded foreign coming from him. He would never have said something that gentlemanly had it been just the two of them, especially with his smirk and the way his eyes kept drifting to her breasts.

"Why thank you." She replied as she politely bowed her head. "You look very handsome yourself." Emma struggled with giving him the undeserved compliment, forcing the bile that had risen back down her throat.

As her parents took their seats again, she had expected Prince Dempsey to pull out her chair for her, but when she looked to her left he was already in his seat. Emma pulled out her own chair, sat down, and scooted it back in. When she looked down at the plate in front of her, full of seasoned mutton, garlic potatoes, green beans, and rosemary bread, she felt no desire to eat any of it. Her appetite was non-existent.

Her father raised his chalice of wine in the air, signaling the need for a toast.

"To Emma, here's to hoping that the winner of this tourney brings you all the love and devotion you deserve."

"Hear, hear." Her mother and Prince Dempsey responded.

They all raised their chalices in the air and then brought them to their lips. Emma took several more sips than the others, feeling the need for some liquid courage. When she placed the cup down she could tell someone was staring at her. When she looked up she found her mother giving her a curious look. Emma flashed a smile, hoping it would convince her that everything was fine. When her mother returned to her food she knew she had succeeded.

As everyone dug into their food, Emma picked at hers and moved it around her plate.

"So, Lord Dempsey, that was some pretty spectacular shooting you did today. I take it this wasn't your first time handling a bow and arrow?" James asked as he cut his mutton.

"Thank you your Grace." Dempsey replied while swallowing a bit of food. "As I told Emma during our dinner my first night here, no one is a better archer than me and I think I proved that today."

"Is that so?" Snow gave him a challenging look.

"You see, my wife is a pretty amazing archer herself." James pointed out.

"Well, it looks like we'll have to set up our own little competition to see who is better. That is, if I best Prince Brindley in our dueling match tomorrow, which I have no doubt that I will."

Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes at his over confidence. She hoped her parents could see right through his fake charm.

"You're on." Her mother agreed.

Emma was on autopilot for the rest of the dinner. She laughed when someone made a joke, nodded when she was expected to agree with something and shook her head no when she was supposed to join in the disagreement. Her responses were reduced to one word answers or even just a smile. The only movement she ever made was picking up her cup of wine, taking generous sips, and placing it back down. She had lost count of how many times she had done it, which she could blame on how much wine she had indeed consumed.

At some point in the dinner she had realized Prince Dempsey's hand had made its way to her upper thigh. Could her parents really not see it? She shifted in her seat, causing him to pull his hand back, and she placed her hands in her lap ensuring that his hand wouldn't return.

Soon, everyone's plates were empty, except Emma's which surprising went unnoticed, and they were all rising from their seats.

"It was a pleasure eating dinner with you tonight Lord Dempsey." Snow said.

"The pleasure was all mine your Majesty. Thank you." He said as he bowed to both of Emma's parents.

"Good luck tomorrow." James said, patting Dempsey on the back.

Prince Dempsey thanked him with the bow of his head and then turned to Emma.

"I hope this is not the last time that we eat together my Lady." He brought her hand to his lips once again.

She could only give him a nod in response. He then said goodnight to them all and left the room.

"Well wasn't that lovely. That boy is quite the charmer." Her mother said.

"He's very sure of himself." Her father agreed.

Emma couldn't believe her parents had fallen right into his trap. She had thought that with everything her parents had dealt with; Regina and Rumpelstiltskin, that they would be able to see through his facade, but apparently Prince Dempsey could deceive even the most experienced of people.

"Oh Emma," Her mother gushed. "I'm so excited for you." She pulled Emma to her and gave her loving hug. When she released her she held her back. "I know you're nervous, but try and get some sleep tonight." She then leaned forward and kissed Emma on her forehead.

"Goodnight sweetheart." Her father said as he gave her kiss on her head as well.

When they parted ways, Emma sluggishly made her way up the stairs to her room. When she had reached the top of the stairs, she saw a figure emerge from around the corner that nearly scared her to death. As it came into the light she realized it was Prince Dempsey. What was he doing here or more importantly, how had he gotten here? She could have sworn he had left already.

"Prince Dempsey," She said as she placed a hand over her heart, feeling the beat rise in speed. "I thought you had left already."

He chuckled and gave her a sneaky smirk. He placed his finger at the bottom of the V on her bodice and dragged it all the way up, over her breasts, his finger touching bare skin, and when it reached her face he opened his palm and placed it on her cheek. Emma's body had started shaking, reacting on its own accord, signaling to Emma that something wasn't right.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice," He moved his finger to her lips, pulling on her bottom lid so that her lips parted slightly.

Emma had no idea what he was referring to. She had never fooled him, well other than acting like she had been happy to see him, but she was positive that wasn't what he was rambling about.

"You ran from me last night because you were afraid of how I made you feel. When I touched you, I saw that raw, animalistic attraction in your eyes. The dress you're wearing tonight," He said eying her up and down. "It's even lower than the dress from the night before. I'm on to you."

She knew she shouldn't have worn this dress. All it was doing was giving Prince Dempsey the wrong ideas and getting her unwanted attention.

"Pardon me my Lord, but I think you had a little too much to drink at dinner tonight. You were supposed to have left when you said goodnight to me and my parents. Now if you don't mind, I am very tired and would like to go to bed. I know you would like to lots of rest tonight so that you will be well energized for your duel with Prince Brindley tomorrow, so once again I bid you goodnight."

She began to walk away, but he pulled on her arm, tugging her so forcefully that he spun her around and her back slammed against the cold, stone wall. Pain shot down Emma's spine. She blinked several times in shock. Prince Dempsey had placed his hands on either side of her head, caging her in. She had no way of escaping. She could feel his hot breath on her skin as he hovered over her face and down her neck.

"Stop fighting it." He whispered. "Your breasts are begging to be touched, your delicious cunt aching to be tasted."

He placed both of his hands on her breasts and squeezed them through her dress; pressure so hard it hurt. He attached at her collar bone, nipping at her skin. Her eyes were watering with pain, tears dripping down her cheeks. She pushed against him as hard as she could, but that only made his actions more insistent. When he finally stopped, her rose to her eye level and placed his hands on her cheeks, pulling her into a kiss. Her lips refused to open, even as his tongue traced them, begging for entrance. That's when she realized her arms were free. She brought her hand back and slapped him across the face. He stepped back in shock, touching the sensitive flesh of his cheek where she had hit him. His eyes became consumed with rage and he charged towards her. He had her against her bedroom door, his face stone cold with anger.

"You dare hit a Lord?" He spat. "A Lord that could very well be your future husband? Not a wise choice in my opinion. Now, be a good Princess and do as I say. It will make things a lot easier."

He leaned forward attempting to kiss her again, but Emma kneed him in the groin. He crumbled to the floor, cupping himself and groaning in agony.

"You bitch! You're going to regret doing that when I win tomorrow!"

He slowly started rising from the ground and Emma stumbled with opening her bedroom door. He was almost completely on his feet when her door gave in and she ran inside. She slammed it shut and held the knob. He pounded on the door, making the entire frame shake, and she could feel him trying to twist the knob. His actions slowly ceased, obvious he had given up. She placed her ear to the door and she heard his footsteps walking away. She didn't trust that he had actually left, so she ran to her vanity and grabbed her chair, placing it against the door, now guaranteeing he wouldn't be able to get it.

When she had a moment to breathe everything inside of her came crashing down. Her breaths came out in heavy sobs as tears fell from her eyes. She slid down the panel of the door, landing on the floor, pulling her legs to her chest and crying into her knees.

"Emma?"

Her head snapped up and there was Graham. She scrambled to her feet and ran towards him at full force. She jumped him, throwing her arms around his neck. She gripped on to him for dear life. Her finger nails digging into his back.

"Emma, you're shaking. What's wrong?"

He tried pulling her back from him, but she wouldn't let go. She wasn't ready to let go. He seemed to understand and enveloped her in his arms, hugging her close to his body. When her breathing slowed, she finally pulled back. She met his gaze, seeing his concerned expression. He reached forward and brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face.

"Emma, what's wrong?" He asked again.

"Everything." She choked out.

She felt his eyes surveying her. His eyes lowered to her lips. The skin was red and blotchy where Prince Dempsey had forced himself on her. He then noticed that her chemise had been pulled out from the top of her dress and there were imprints of finger tips just above her breasts. She watched as his eyes drifted to the chair that was against the door. His expression said it all.

"Did someone hurt you?"

Visions of the horrible interaction with Prince Dempsey flashed through her mind, causing her to lose all control over her reactions. She began sobbing heavily, unable to get any words out. Her chest tightened and a lump rose in her throat. She couldn't breathe, she realized. She reached behind herself to try and untie the strings on her dress, but she couldn't reach far enough. Her sobs grew more hysteric as she struggled.

"Here, I'll help." Graham insisted.

She turned her back to him as he started untying the dress. His movements were soft and delicate, as if he would break her if he pulled to hard. She felt her chest expand at the removal of the restriction and inhaled deeply through her nose. She felt her body relax, but she was in no way ready to recount what had just happened in the hallway.

"Let's get you washed off."

He took her hand and helped her step out of her dress. He led her to her bed and pushed her down on it softly. She sat with her hands in her lap, just watching him. This was a side of him that she had never seen. He was taking care of her. Usually it was the other way around. Sometimes when he would come back from being away he would have millions of cuts scattered across his body. Emma would always clean and dress them.

He turned from her vanity with a wet cloth in his hand. He brought it to her face and wiped it across her cheeks where her tears had fallen. As he washed her makeup away, Emma felt calmer. His movements were soothing, his touch so tentative. When he finished, he wiped her face dry and then began taking her hair down. He brushed her long locks until they lay straight. He then pulled the covers of the bed back, picked her up, and placed her underneath them. He crawled in beside her and pulled her close. He started placing kisses on her face, beginning at her forehead, working down to the tip of her nose, and finally to her lips. He placed a few pecks on her lips, but when Emma felt him pulling away she grabbed his face and pulled him back.

She wasn't sure what had come over her. She wanted to know what it felt like to be touched like Prince Dempsey had touched her, but with someone she wanted to be with. As her kisses grew more urgent, she felt Graham's face scrunch in confusion, but he didn't stop kissing her. She rolled on top of him, straddling his waist, and kissed along his jaw. She moved down his neck, sliding her body down his, both of their breathing becoming ragged.

"Take me, Graham." She whispered.

"W-What?" He sputtered incoherently.

She brought her hands to the top of his shirt, her fingers pulling at the strings, untying and flaying it open so she could see his chest. There she started placing kisses.

"He can't have me Graham. Please take me so that he can't." She pleaded.

If Prince Dempsey won she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being her first. She wanted him to see that there was someone else, someone that she would always love more. She couldn't let him have her.

"Emma, you know I can't." He objected.

She sat up straight, her legs now straddling his hips. She gripped the top of her chemise and pulled it down until it was bunched around her waist. Her breasts out in full view, nipples hardening at the introduction to the cold air. She met his gaze for a moment. His eyes grew wide as he stared at her breasts and then back at her. He sat up and placed a hand on Emma's back, pulling her towards him. Their lips met in a passionate kiss before his lips started moving down her neck. He then rolled her over so that she was underneath him.

Emma suddenly felt nervous and experienced a quick moment of doubt. She had never done this before. Of course her mother had talked to her about what a woman was expected to do on her wedding night to please her husband, but she hadn't gone into immense detail. Maybe this wasn't the best idea. But then she thought about doing this with Prince Dempsey and knew there was no other choice.

Graham kissed his way down her chest until he reached her breasts. He took one into his mouth, his tongue swirling around her nipple. Emma released a wanton moan and gripped the pillow beside her. As Graham continued his attention to her right breast, his hand moved to her left and massaged it, rolling her nipple between his fingers.

She felt an aching growing at the core of her body. She wasn't sure what it was, but it grew more intense as Graham continued his ministrations. She was disappointed when he abruptly stopped, but he continued his way down her body, towards the ache that was giving her so much issue, pulling down the rest of her chemise as he went. Soon she was completely naked underneath him.

She felt his hands slid up and down her thighs; each antagonizing stroke coming closer to her center. When his fingers finally reached her mound, they slid over her slick slit. Her body shuttered at this new sensation that she had never felt. As his fingers moved further, they found a spot that, when he pressed upon it, made stars flash before her eyes. She cried out in pleasure. Suddenly she felt pressure, an uncomfortable pressure that caused her to tense up.

"Relax, Emma."

His breath came out hot against her lips. Her eyes shot open and found his face above hers. Their lips met, not in an impatient fashion, but a slow, loving one. She listened to his words and tried to relax as she felt the pressure again, pushing in and stretching her. It disappeared, but then was back again, only this time stretching her wider. She looked down and watched as Graham's three fingers slid in and out of her, glistening with her essence.

As his movements continued, Emma felt something building inside of her, something that she would come so close to reaching, but couldn't quite make it. He kissed his way down her body again until he reached her mound. He pulled his fingers from her body and placed both of his hands on her hips. He ran his tongue along her slit, causing her to quiver with anticipation and buck her hips in the air. He used his strong and steady hands to hold her down. His mouth worked its way up her lips until it reached her bundle of nerves, wrapping his lips around it and sucking hard.

Emma thrashed her head back and forth and gripped the sheets of her bed. He finally released her sensitive nub and his tongue lapped up her juices, his actions growing greedier. His mouth moved against her, his tongue slipping in and out. He brought his thumb to her clit and rubbed it feverishly.

Emma could feel whatever she was trying to reach coming on fast. She was getting closer and closer as Graham's pace increased. His mouth replaced his thumb on her clit, flicking it with his tongue as his fingers entered her again. His fingers were moving at a rapid speed and with one last flick of his tongue she felt every nerve explode through her body. She arched from the bed, crying out at her release.

When she came down from her high, she was breathing heavily. Her eyes fluttered open and her vision was blurry. Her vision returned to normal when Graham's lips met hers. She tasted a slight tang on his tongue that changed something in her. She wanted more. She needed more. Her lips moved forcefully against his, but he pulled back.

"I can't do what you ask of me." He kissed the edge of her lips. "I'm sorry."

No, this wasn't the way this was supposed to go. She needed to be with him before Prince Dempsey got the chance. She needed to know what it was supposed to feel like; to be with the one you loved and not the one you were forced to be with.

"Graham, please. If Dempsey wins, I can't…I can't."

"And you don't think it will be worse for you if on your wedding night he finds out that you're not pure? He'll make your life a living hell the moment he realizes it. I want to, Emma. You have to understand that I want to, but I'm doing what's best for you."

He lay down beside her and pulled her to him. Her back was against his chest and his arms were around her waist. She felt something poking her back and her eyes widened in shock.

"Graham,"

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it myself."

"Graham," She tried to argue back.

He hushed her before she was able to continue. "Go to sleep Emma, you've had a tiring day."

She tried fighting it, but the moment she closed her eyes she realized how exhausted she really was. Moments before she drifted to sleep, she heard Graham whisper that he loved her and she sleepily mumbled it back. She slipped into slumber in the warmth and love of Graham's arms, not wanting to ever wake up.

* * *

**Okay, it's Prince Dempsey against Prince Brindley in the duel for Emma's hand. Who do you think will win?**


End file.
